


Aaron and Eric (All Out War)

by Aaricwriter



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:33:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22458019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaricwriter/pseuds/Aaricwriter
Summary: Aaron and Eric fight for their lives as the Saviors take over Alexandria.
Relationships: Aaron/Eric Raleigh
Kudos: 9





	1. Ransacking

**Author's Note:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Eric woke up, rubbing his eyes looking to see what time it was. 10am. He looked over at Aaron and smiled.

For the first time in a long time, Aaron slept peacefully through the night. No nightmares had plagued his thoughts that night despite the fear coursing through Alexandria. He rolled over into his husbands arms, pressing his back into Aaron’s warm chest. He knew at some point, and soon, Negan would be paying Alexandria a visit, and he also knew peaceful times like this were temporary. He had to make the most of every second with the love of his life. Thinking about the unpredictable kept Eric awake, just as it did when they were outside. The fact that they were together on the road made everything seem better, but now, he never knew when someone could come in and kill either one of them. The thought made Eric turn in his lover’s arms. He grounded himself by memorizing every detail of Aaron’s peaceful face. His soft curls, the small, hardly noticeable white scars on his cheeks, the smooth stubble, and his gentle lashes helped him to relax. 

As Eric gently stroked Aaron’s hair behind his ears, he felt the man stir, “Morning,” he smiled softly, kissing Eric, “How long have you been up?”

"Not long. It's 10:00, now. I can make us some breakfast in a bit. Lord knows how long we’ll have supplies.", Eric said as he delivered another kiss to Aaron’s soft lips. Going to the kitchen, Eric rummaged through the cupboards, “How does cereal and fruit sound?”

“Sounds fine,” Aaron said as he wrapped his arms around Eric’s shoulder, "You were tossing and turning in your sleep for awhile.”

"Was I?“

“Yeah... do you want to talk about it?”

“Just normal end of the world stuff. No need to worry,” in all honesty, he wanted to keep his nightmares from his lover. He didn’t want to add anymore weight to his already heavy shoulders, “I’m just glad you got sleep.”

“If you want to talk about it more, you know I’ll be there for you.” 

“I know.” He gave Aaron’s hand a squeeze, smiling into his shoulder as he left a small kiss.

The moment was abruptly interrupted as the sound of cars and the gates opening sounded through the community. 

Eric went over to the curtains and opened them. The Saviors were here. 

“Oh god. Aaron they’re here,” he said putting his hand over his mouth.

“Okay, deep breaths. We’re going to get through this. Just do what they say,” Aaron said, nuzzling against his partners neck, trying to reassure him.

And just at that moment there was a knock at the door. Eric cautiously went to open the door. Rick was there....with Negan holding Judith. Rick looked awkwardly at Eric and Aaron "I'm....going out for supplies with Tara for Negan. Can you two please watch Judith?” 

Aaron’s gaze flickered between the toddler in Negan’s arms and Eric, who nodded sadly. They both knew compliance was necessary at the moment in order to keep his family safe, but by taking Judith, he knew he was putting himself and more importantly Eric at the center of attention. 

“Of course,” he said softly, allowing Negan through. "Come on in Negan."

Negan grinned and gave Judith to Eric to hold. Eric gave a reassuring nod to Rick before closing the front door, “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I am Negan," he said smirking slyly, “Your boy over there was in my little lineup. I’m sure he told you all about it. It was quite a night. You know when I asked Aaron here about his significant other, he looked scared as shit. That should flatter you. It’s amazing how much people think about their lovers when they think they’re going to get the shit beaten out of them.”

Eric gulped, his whole body shaking as he held a sleeping Judith, “I-I’m Eric,” he muttered. 

“It is so nice to meet you, Eric!” Negan stopped to look at the framed picture of Aaron and Eric that was hanging on the wall. "Well isn't that sweet... So!” Negan suddenly exclaimed. Eric flinched hard. Aaron moved his hand to his shoulder with a subtle squeeze, “Were you boys always into dick, or did the apocalypse make you prison gay? Taking what you can get. Desperate times and all that. I have a harem if you miss women. Come by. Take a load off. Forget about other dudes’ balls for a while. What do you say?”, Negan laughed slightly, looking at Aaron to get a response.

Aaron swallowed and glared at the floor. It took a minute of him biting his tongue before guiding Negan to show off his vast license plate collection.

Negan surprised with Aaron’s calm composure, followed him. "Wow-wee! Someone has been busy! I'm not going to lie, that's a pretty impressive collection right there", Negan said mouth gapped open. "Damn I'm thirsty... hey....uh....Eric? Get me a glass of water?", Negan said with a patronising grin to Eric. Eric gave a calm nod, gripping Judith tighter before making his way to the kitchen to fetch the water. On his way there he looked to Aaron for some comfort. Keeping his eye on Eric at all times, Aaron noticed this and nodded, wording a soft "thank you".

"I'm only missing Hawaii and I think Washington. I was lucky enough to find an Alaska plate though"

"Well if I ever find them, I give it straight to you!", Negan smirked. Eric entered with Negan’s glass of water, still holding Judith. He passed the water to Negan. "Thanks", Negan said with a wink and then returned his gaze to Aaron. "What's next in this gay paradise?", he asked Aaron. Eric returned to the living room and played with Judith, keeping his ears alert. Judith giggled as Eric started to play with her little toy rabbit, pretending that it was alive.

Aaron gave a weak smile at Eric taking care of the infant, wishing things were different and that they could have a child of their own, but now was not the time, "Well I could give you tour of the garage? There are tons of bike parts in there" he shrugged and leads the man down the hallway

"Show me the way", Negan beamed before looking back at Eric with Judith and whispering to Aaron. "Your man isn't much of a talker is he? He okay?", Negan asked menacingly, since he knew damn well why Eric was quite.

Aaron motioned with arm into the garage and leaned against the open door way. "No, no not really," he said sternly, not able to contain his words.

"Look I'm sorry, it was nothing personal, but you know damn well why I did the things I did," Negan said before stepping inside the garage. "Look at all this shit! I think I’ll take some for repairing our bikes," he said whilst picking up parts and putting it down again.

Aaron watched Negan delight in his finding of all the tools. "Not like we use any of the stuff. Have at it", Aaron replied.

"Why thank you", Negan grinned turning to Aaron. "What about your bedroom? Bet you have some interesting shit there,” Negan said with an uncomfortable grin, “Sorry, but my men could use some new mattresses,” he winked. He liked making people feel uncomfortable, and pushing their buttons. Eric heard these words and stiffened up. He hated strangers snooping in his private and personal things - especially when an it's someone like Negan.

"They are just bedrooms. Just some dressers and other stuff" Aaron said as he les the man up the stairs, debating with himself whether or not to just spin around and shove the bastard down the stairs once at the top. He paused on the landing now back turned to Negan.

Negan smirked when Aaron stopped on the stairs. "What's up Aaron? You got something that you don't want me to see?" he said with suggestive tone. "Or do you got something to say, huh?"

Aaron dug his nails into the railing as he paused long and hard at the top, “Just... nothing ", he mutters as calmly as possible.

"Then you wouldn't mind me having a look then?", Negan said with a more forceable and stern tone, noticing Aaron's tension in his hand on the railing.

"No, course not. Like I said there’s nothing of use up here," Aaron tried to keep his temper in check. He walked into his room and waited for Negan.

Negan raised his eyebrows at Aaron's comment but stepped inside regardless. He looked around and walked over to the bedside table and picked up a pre-apocalypse photo of Aaron and Eric: it was from their trip to Paris with both of them holding a glass of wine, Aaron's arm wrapped around Eric's waist holding him close. Negan picked it up admiring it. "Damn, you two have been together since before the world went to shit? And all those religious folk expect you to be punished yet you survived! Really showed them didn't you?"

“I guess we did" Aaron said flatly, thinking of his mother and standing protectively in front of the doorway. 

Negan rested the photo frame back down on the bedside table but then noticed the bedside table had a couple of draws. An idea washed in his mind in order to push Aaron as much as he could. Negan's hand slowly moved to the the draw and it hovered there to which he looked up at Aaron with a smile.

"So...what's in here? You keep all your private naughty shit in these draws?", Negan said with a malicious tone in his voice.

"Just personal things of ours" Aaron said with a shrug of his shoulders, not fazed at all by Negan's tone. The drawer only contained their journals and books.

At this point, Eric appeared in the doorway, holding a sleepy Judith in his arms. He saw Negan and Aaron in the bedroom. He knew was Negan clearly trying to test Aaron by looking in their draws which held personal items like things they took from their old home.

"I’m about to put Judith down for her nap, so Negan if you want to give her one last hug before she sleeps, here she is", Eric said softly looking at Negan and then at Aaron. His look to Aaron was a look of reassurance. Though he hasn’t been with Aaron for the majority of the tour, he wanted him to know that they were okay.

Aaron sadly smiled and stroked Eric’s hair trying to ground himself and hold it together. 

Negan forgot about the drawers and went to kiss Judith on the cheek goodnight, "Night, little angel. Sleep tight." Aaron suppressed a grimace and shudder as Negan kissed Judith. 

Eric exited the room to head towards the spare bedroom which had a spare cot in it for Judith to sleep in.

Negan watched Eric leave and turned to Aaron with a slight laugh and smirk. "He is just like a housewife! Speaking of... I have a few of my men taking note of your man there, and some of them are wondering... well they asked me to ask you if you would fine with them having a little one on one time with Eric. It would be a one off thing, and they promised never to bother either of you in exchange for one night with him. What do you say to that? Pretty good deal isn't it?"

The question made Aaron have to grip the dresser, his eyes watering and bile rising in his throat. His heart seized at the thought of anyone laying a hand on his husband. 

"No" he said flatly, voice dead serious. He couldn't understand how Negan would think that anyone would take that deal.

Negan moved really close up to Aaron in a intimidating manner. "Oh damn...my boys are going to be so disappointed. Then again," Negan said moving his mouth closer to Aaron's ear with a slight malicious tone to it, “you better keep your eye on Eric as my boys don't like not getting what they want,” Negan smirked, “Well! I better be off, make my hello rounds to everyone....I'lll let myself out, say goodbye to Eric from me. Oh! And I will have some of my men come by for that mattress of yours and the one in the spare downstairs,” Negan chuckled, gesturing to Enid’s room. Aaron looked at the ground, “Ta ta for now!" Negan said smiling as he descended down the stairs and out the front door, slamming it shut.

Eric slowly appeared in the doorway looking at Aaron with slightly scared and confused eyes, he clearly heard some of what Negan had said. Aaron slid down the wall once Negan had left and looked up at Eric's face, "We should break out the wine", Aaron joked weakly before reaching a hand towards Eric. "Judith asleep?"

Eric nodded. "She'll be asleep for about an hour...", he said with a slight sad and shaky tone, extending hand out to pull Aaron up from the floor, hugging his boyfriend once he is to his feet, "With you by my side, I'll always feel safe", he said pulling away slightly to kiss Aaron softly.

"Same here.” he returns the heated kiss before pulls back with a smile, "I'll be downstairs. Keeping watch"

Eric grabs Aaron's hand before he can leave, "I heard a bit of what was said. Was he messing with your head or was he being serious?", Eric asked.

"Messing with my head probably" he shrugged but with a doubtful tone. He knew what Negan was capable of doing and the Alexandrian's being powerless to do anything about it. "They won't touch you or anyone else in the community, I won't let them and neither will Rick"

Eric nodded, “I’m glad you handled that. Heaven knows what I would have said. You know I’ve got a mouth on me,” he joked with a slight grin, trying to lighten the mood. Aaron chuckled and looks back up the stairs at his lover with a smile before going to keep watch for Rick out the window.  
********************************************

Later that night, after Negan had left, Aaron went back to the house. Eric had taken blankets out of cupboards and pillows from their now-stolen bed, and layered them on the couch.  
Aaron stood silent, watching his husband pull sheets onto the makeshift bed.

"Hey," he said, and the ginger looked up.

"Hey." A silence followed this.

"I'm sorry." Eric said, sitting down on the couch. He clasped his hands together and let his head droop. "I‘m sorry for what I said at the meeting in the church. I wasn’t thinking of what you all went through. I was thinking of impossible scenarios. I know it’s no excuse for—“

Aaron cut him off by walking to him, putting his hands on Eric's cheeks, and pressing his lips to his.

There was a gentle quietness that came while the two men kissed each other softly. It wasn't a lustful, moaning kiss that would always lead to something more; it was a sweet, soft kiss, a kiss where Eric drew his thumbs up and down the sides of Aaron's face, feeling the rough stubble. It was a kiss where Aaron would work his rough hands through Eric's soft, hair, and one where they could hear each other's soft breaths between kisses.

At last Aaron drew back, exhaling a final breath of shared air.

"It's alright." He said, kneeling down in front of Eric. "I'm sorry I got us into this. I was a part of this starting— I always seem to be a part of people dying— and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how this will have to play out, whatever that may be. I'm sorry for what Negan said about you."

Eric had his thin eyebrows drawn into a caring frown, his mouth parted slightly, "Hey, we’ve been over this guilt thing too many times to count. Aaron, it’s not your fault. Nothing is," he said softly.

Aaron took Eric's hand. "I know this all seems wrong. It seems like there's still more that we can do—that you can do—but there isn't. I know you want to fight for us, but we can’t. Not now." He made sure he was making direct eye-contact with Eric, his steely blue eyes penetrating the ginger's deep brown. He needed to make sure they were safe— that Eric was safe, his heart still beating. 

Eric nodded slowly, and Aaron reached in to wrap his arms around the thinner man.  
After a moment of hugging, the curly haired man pulled back and stood, eyeing the couch.

"You think there's room for both of us there?" He asked, and Eric smiled.

"Definitely, yes."


	2. Hearts Still Beating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on the episode 7x08, “Hearts Still Beating”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Aaron let out another wheezing gasp as he was struck hard in the stomach and chest. Body curling into a ball in a effort to protect himself.  
—

Eric’s heart was palpitating harshly against his chest. Negan had quickly thrust a knife into the stomach of Spencer Monroe. Everybody was staring in shock as Negan began to disembowl Spencer before removing the knife. The younger male’s innards began to fall out onto the streets of Alexandria. Eric was speechless and frozen in fear. All he could do was gulp nervously. Spencer was caressing his guts, falling to his knees, holding his guts as he tried to put them back in. “Oh there they are!” Negan grinned, pointing at the guts. “They were inside you all the time! You did have guts!” Negan raised his voice. “I’ve never been so wrong in my whole life!” He looked at the Alexandrians who were showing shock and fear. Aaron where the hell are you? Eric was thinking to himself as tried to maintain his composure, totally oblivious to the fact that Aaron was being beaten. 

A gunshot broke the silence, and Eric could see Rosita with a gun in her hand. She had aimed for Negan but the bullet missed and hit Lucille instead. And Negan was pissed. Eric's heart was threatening to jump out of his chest as the situation continued to escalate. Almost immediately, another gunshot was heard and there was a loud thump. Eric turned his head to see that Olivia had been shot in the head by Arat. 

Eric could feel his heart sinking into his chest and he was looking around desperately for Aaron, as long as he knew where he was, he would be fine. When Aaron and Rick returned, Eric just felt his heart break. Aaron was battered up and bloody from the beating he had taken from a couple of Saviors. Instinctively, Eric started to rush over to Aaron, only caring about his lover. Rick let go of Aaron, letting Eric take care of him as he went to go confront Negan. "We had an agreement-" Rick started to speak but Negan cut him off. "Rick! Look everybody it's Rick!" Negan was speaking with a gleeful tone as he saw Rick. Eric and Aaron didn't bother to care about what the two were saying, they were focused on each other right now, “What happened, baby?” Eric asked, his voice full of panic and concern.

"It's okay Eric. It was just a beating." Aaron whispered, trying to reassure his boyfriend. But that didn't make things any better for Eric. 

"Arat..." Negan started to speak while holding the bullet that almost hit him in his hand. Arat looked directly at Eric and pointed the gun at his head. Eric held a hand up, eyes widening as he silently begged for his life, huddling closer to Aaron. Aaron weakly held an arm up around Eric to protect him even though he was bruised and battered up, "No! No. No. No." Aaron coughed out. Everything had happened so fast.

"It was me!" Tara confessed, making Arat turn around and point the gun at her instead. This somewhat made Eric calm down, knowing he wasn't going to be killed today. 

"No it wasn't." A voice spoke. It was Eugene. "It was me." He confessed. Aaron and Eric turned their heads to look at Eugene, Arat now pointed the gun at Eugene. Eric felt his breathing come out heavy, and he held onto Aaron to keep his lover from falling to the ground. After a few minutes, the Saviors were moving out and they were taking Eugene with them. And Rosita was screaming for them to take her instead. After that, the Alexandrians were dispersing.

"Let's get you back home. I'll explain everything later," Eric said making their way back to their house. 

One of the saviours, the that beat up Aaron saw the two and called out "Hey faggot, remember what I said: I'll make him suffer if you try any shit like that again".

Eric turned and immediately helped Aaron to the infirmary. He started muttering about painkillers and antiseptic and bandages, rummaging around in the room after propping Aaron up on a cot. “You’re gonna be okay,” he promises, breathing heavy. “I’ve got you,” he says as he filled his arms with medicine and gauze and makes his way toward Aaron. “I’ve got you.”

Aaron just nodded. He felt like his whole body was full of lead. Eric tried lifting Aaron’s arms up to pull his shirt off but Aaron winces, curling his arms back down. “I can’t, I can’t,” he said, shaking his head back and forth. “Hurts.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Eric tells him, trying to keep his hands from shaking more than they already were. He reached for the scissors on the table and cut Aaron’s shirt off, throwing aside the scraps.

It was like walking into a nightmare. Aaron’s ribs are painted with bruises and blood, all purple and black and red. He hunches in on himself like it hurts to sit upright. His bare arms are sleeved with even more bruises. Eric feels bile rise in his throat, and it clicks with him that if he saw Aaron walk through the gate like this, he’d probably think his husband was a walker.  
“Okay,” Eric says, and holds a shaking hand over his mouth. “Okay. I’ll… you’re gonna be okay.” 

Eric opens the drawer they’ve turned into the Emergency Kit. He pulls out a washcloth and wet it with warm water.  
  
He dabs it gently against the dried blood on Aaron’s cheek, wanting to clear the blood away before he can start on the cuts. The other man flinches slightly but corrects as soon as it happens, still trying to look semi-composed.  
  
“Eric, are you okay?” Eric keeps wiping away dried blood; Aaron reaches up and grabs his wrist, just gently enough to still his hand, “Are you okay?”  
  
“Why are you asking me that?” Eric wipes away tears with his free hand; he makes a sound somewhere between laughing and choking then continues, “You were just beaten half to death and you wanna know if I’m okay?”  
  
“Of course I wanna know, I always wanna know if you’re okay. You’re my everything.” Aaron’s voice cracks towards the end of the statement and he realizes, oh god, he’s crying too, “You’re my everything, and I almost lost you. What happened today--Spencer, Olivia…having a gun pointed in your face…are you okay?””  
  
Gripping the edge of the counter and studying the granite as he tried to process everything. “After you told me what happened to Glenn and Abraham—the thought that it could have been you,” Eric looked up and met Aaron’s gaze. “I knew we no longer had a choice in the deal with the Saviors. Even if they took everything we own, it wouldn’t matter as long as I still had you. Now…I feel like no matter what we do, they could roll in here at any time and kill us. You and Rick were out there, risking your lives to get shit for them, and they still kill two of our own and beat the shit out of you,” Eric stops bothering to wipe the tears away when he says, “Just let me take care of you for once, babe. You’re always taking care of me.”  
  
Aaron grins, “And I always will be. Because I love you.”  
  
Eric bounces up on his tiptoes and kisses Aaron gently, “And I love you. That’s why I’m gonna fix you up.” He wiped away the rest of the blood, then rummaged through the drawer.

He grabbed the antiseptic wipes, which weren't favorable, but the only thing available, and began to clean Aaron's face off, as well as the shallow cuts on his chest.

When the antiseptic touched the gash under Aaron's eye, he gasped, choking back a sob.

"Shh," Eric said again, taking Aaron's hand with his left hand while he continued. 

Aaron grabbed Eric’s hand before he could continue, “They pointed a gun at you,” Aaron mumbled staring into Eric’s eyes, as if he just processed everything. 

“I know, I was there,” Eric says, throwing in a cheeky smirk that stops short of his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“I’m not.” Aaron shifts on the cot, groaning as he does, so he can be closer to Eric, so he can lean forward until their foreheads touch. “I thought— I thought— I don’t know what I thought. I thought it was over. Like, suddenly, in a second, like they were just gonna...” He cuts himself off with a loud shudder, pain and fear and doubt warbling out. “And I couldn’t do anything, and I tried, and I couldn’t do anything.”

“It’s okay,” Eric says for what feels like the millionth time. He puts a hand up to cup the side of Aaron’s face and they’re both crying. “You said it. We’re both okay.”

“They were going to kill you,” Aaron says, and it hurts to breathe and it hurts to cry and the heart pounding in his chest feels like a hammer striking at him, over and over and over. “They were going to kill you.”

“But they didn’t,” Eric says, wishing he could wrap his arms around Aaron without hurting his battered ribs. 

“Th-they could have killed you.”

“I’m right here.”

“Right,” Aaron nods like he needs to keep reminding himself. “Right. It’s just. That whole time they were… hurting me, I kept thinking… this is fine. As long as I don’t die, this is fine, this is something I can take. As long as my heart’s still beating, right?”

“Right.”

“And then they pointed that gun at you,” Aaron says. “And I swear to God, Eric, my heart stopped.” With a soft choking sound, he leans into Eric’s hand. “I can’t do that. I couldn’t do that. If you were… if they killed…” He takes one deep breath in and out to steady himself, and it hurts like hell. In a low voice, he tells Eric, “Maggie must be strong as hell. I couldn’t do what she… Eric, if you were gone I’d be… gone. I’m not strong like that.”

Aaron’s eyes are black and bloody and his upper lip is split, and Eric leans in and kisses him and holds him like he’s the only good thing left in the world because hell, he probably is. “You are strong,” Eric tells him. “And so am I, but we’re stronger together, and that’s okay.”

Slowly, Aaron gave him a small nod. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah. That’s okay.” Aaron kissed him, reassuring and comforting. Eric smiled, running a thumb over his purpling cheekbone and once again reaching for the gauze.

Now that the wounds were as clean as they would get, Eric would have to give Aaron stitches on the couple of deeper gashes on his face. He squeezed Aaron's hand. "This is gonna hurt." He said.

"Can't hurt more than that," Aaron mumbled back, and visibly braced himself.

Eric set the needle to the skin, and threaded it through. Each need he stuck the needle again, Aaron would groan a little. Eric felt horrible, but it had to be done. He wished with a horrible ache that Denise was still alive. (Not Pete - Pete was an ass. Especially to Aaron and Eric.) But she wasn't here. Aaron was. And he was in pain.

"Shhh," Eric said softly. "Almost done." Next, he put gauze on any other cuts and bandaged them. Reluctantly, Eric palpated Aaron’s tender ribs, feeling if they were cracked or broken. After a few touches and observations—and groans from Aaron— Eric determined they were only cracked, so he wrapped them. 

Aaron put a hand on Eric's shoulder. His eyes were dark and blue rimmed with red. His hair was messy and his eyes were shadowed with bruises. He looked as if he wanted to say something, then sighed. This was immediately followed by him drawing a hand quickly up to his chest, as he had felt a sharp, stabbing pain.

The walk back was hell. It was excruciatingly hot out, the sun beating down on them as they stumbled through the streets.

Tara had seen them leaving the infirmary, and she had run to help them get back to the house.

Aaron had one arm around Eric's neck and one around Tara's, barely managing to stay upright even with two people helping him.

They climbed the stairs slowly, one step at a time. As Aaron lifted his foot up for another step, his toe got hooked under it and he tripped forward.

Tara moved, lightning fast, and caught him before he made impact. Eric had him soon after, and they had him back of his feet quickly.

Once they had ascended the stairs, Aaron leaned against the door. "Give me a minute," he said, and Eric nodded.

The ginger turned to Tara, who was wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Thank you," he said, giving her a small smile.

Tara shrugged. "He's hurt. Of course I'll help you guys."

Eric shook his head. "No, I mean, before, when you told Negan that you made the bullet. You saved my life. Saved Aaron. Thank you."

Tara smiled a little back. "Us gays have to stick up for each other, right?" She said.

Eric nodded. "Right." He said, and he laughed a little.

Tara smiled, "Hope you feel better. If you guys need anything - literally, anything - you know where to find me." Tara stated, walking down the stairs.

Aaron looked as if he were about to fall over. Eric had him wrap his arm around the ginger's neck again, and helped him into the house.

"Couch," Aaron mumbled, and Eric nodded, steering the towards their couch.  
He gently set Aaron down on the cushions. Aaron looked up at him, eyes half closed with what looked like exhaustion.

"You want to sleep?" Eric asked, and the curly haired man nodded blankly.  
Eric piled pillows up for him at one end of the couch, and pulled out two blankets for him.

Aaron groaned as he laid back, shifting painfully on the uneven cushions. Eric pulled the blankets over him and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

As Eric was about to walk away, Aaron reached up and caught at the ginger's hand. He squeezed it tightly, and looked up at him.

"Please don't go," Aaron said. His voice was low and cracked with pain.  
His husband sighed out, heart aching painfully. He squeezed back with slender fingers. "Okay."

He sat on the floor with his back resting on the coffee table, holding Aaron's bloody hand as he slipped into sleep.

Aaron didn't sleep for long. Weariness could only dull the pain for an hour or so, and he woke up around then.

He turned his head to look at Eric, blue eyes pain-filled. "Any painkillers?"

Eric shook his head, and carded his slender fingers through Aaron’s hair, "I'm sorry, no. I checked in the infirmary and through our supplies. The Saviors took it all."

Aaron groaned. "My muscles hurt," he said.

Eric nodded. "Bet they do." He noticed the blood and dirt that still caked Aaron's face. 

"Do you want a bath? It might help with some of the pain," the thinner man suggested.

Aaron nodded, and struggled to sit up. Eric helped stabilize him as he attempted to stand, and practically carried him up the stairs.

Once they reached the bathroom, he put the lid of the toilet down and had Aaron sit there as he ran the bath water.

"Really warm?" Eric asked, and the brunet nodded.

Once the water was running, he helped undress Aaron. It was painful to see him this way - naked, bruised almost everywhere, shaking with exhaustion.  
Eric checked the cuts on his face; they seemed to have stopped bleeding, which was good. One less thing to deal with.

"Here," Eric said, and helped Aaron into the warm water gently. He sucked in his breath as his cuts stung, the hot water seeming to burn them.

"You too," Aaron said, motioning Eric into the bathtub. Eric looked nervous, "I'll be fine," the brunet reassured him. "I just want you in here with me."

After a moment, Eric nodded, and stripped his clothes off before climbing into the bathtub as well. Aaron sat up, groaning a little, and Eric sat down behind him. The brunet leaned back, and rested his head on Eric's collarbone.

They laid there like that for a moment, a moment of silence only penetrated by the gentle sounds of lapping water.

Eric kissed the top of his curly-haired head, and grabbed a washcloth. He saturated it, rung it, and then gently scrubbed it over Aaron's chest and shoulders.

He was covered in so much blood and dirt that the water became tinted a redish-brown color. Aaron would suck in his breath if Eric went too hard, or gently grab at his hand. The brunet seemed to be more at ease now, as his muscles soaked in the hot water.

Eric then craned his head to see Aaron's face, and gingerly washed the blood from it, paying extra attention to the stitched area.

Now that his face was clean, Eric leaned back against the curve of the tub again, and lightly traced his fingers down Aaron's chest, feeling the hairs click against his fingernails.

"Eric," Aaron said, and the other man froze, terrified that he had hurt him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

“I love you. More than anything.”

The ginger leaned in to kiss him, gently pressing his lips against Aaron's. He gingerly ran his fingers down the brunet's stubbly face, and Aaron reached for his thin body and held him close.

After they broke away, the taller man, rested his head in the crook between Eric's neck and his shoulder, "I love you too— so so much,” Eric whispered sweetly.


	3. The Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Aaron recovers, the couple ventures outside the walls and runs into Negan and the Saviors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

The porch was welcoming as always, large and inviting. However, the sign in their window had been flipped to, "Sorry, We're Closed!" Rick ignored this as he knocked on the door steadily. He idly shook the small bottle of painkillers he held while he waited for someone to answer - he was sure that they were home. Aaron must be on bed rest for at least a few days, knowing Eric, and it was still early morning. The sun had just peaked above the trees and fell over Alexandria in horizontal shafts of gold.  
The others, besides Daryl, had stayed in Hilltop. Rick had only come back to gather a few resources and to visit Aaron, who'd been left behind.

Finally, the door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Eric. He had dark circles under his tired eyes and rumpled ginger hair, which he ran a slender hand through in an effort to smooth it.

"Rick?" He asked, squinting slightly at the sunlight. "You here to see Aaron?"

Rick nodded awkwardly. Although Eric was one of the people who brought Rick's family to this community and was Rick's friend's husband, he'd never spoken to him much. This fact hit him painfully and embarrassingly as he stood in front of Eric. He was just as capable as Aaron, he just ran into a string of bad luck in terms of injuries. Even then, Rick still saw the leadership Eric carried.

"I - uh - brought these... From Hilltop." Rick said, holding out the painfully small bottle.

Eric took it with pale, slender fingers and examined it. "Painkillers? Oh, thank you. Thank God." He sighed a breath of relief and rubbed his eyes quickly. "He's in here." Eric turned, implying that Rick should follow.

Concern slightly mixed with mild shock overcame Rick as he looked around Aaron and Eric's home. He'd been in here before - seen the warm decorations and felt the cheery feel it had radiated. Now... It was much different. A few of the license plates that used to adorn the walls had been ripped off and taken, leaving the nails a haunting reminder of their presence. The picture frame which held the photo and Aaron and Eric was gone from its place on the wall, and one of the kitchen lights was smashed.

A sense of guilt gripped Rick as he swallowed against the hard lump rising in his throat.

"How are Carl and Michonne?" Eric asked, leading Rick up a set of stairs.

Rick shrugged. "They're doin' fine. Michonne' happy I finally realized that we can't live this way."

Eric turned back, glancing at Rick with a confused look, but he brushed it off, heading back up to the hallway. He reached the door and turned the handle gently. As the door was creaking open he called out softly.

"Aaron? Rick's here." He said, and opened the door open fully. Inside the room was a wooden dresser with an old-fashioned lamp on it, an open closet with visible flannels inside, and a nest of blankets and sleeping bags where a master bed should've been. Aaron was laying there, head propped up slightly with two pillows. Bruises purpled his face and made his nose and his left eye swell. Aaron looked even more exhausted than Eric, which was saying a lot. He was stirring, eyes at half-mast.

"Hi," he mumbled as cheerfully as he could manage it.

Rick felt his heart contracted with guilt. It was his fault. He could've protected Aaron from this, kept him from harm. He'd failed Aaron, and he was lying on the floor, bruised as an overripe apple because of it.

Eric went to him, kneeling down. He put a slender hand behind Aaron's neck and gently pushed him upwards while he shifted pillows behind him so that he could sit up to address Rick. Aaron moved painfully, groaning as he did so, to sit up more.

He sent a grateful glance to Eric, who leaned in for a brief, sweet peck on the lips before standing back up. He leaned against the wall next to the door, watching Aaron intently.

"How you feelin'?" Rick asked shifting his weight awkwardly.

Aaron chuckled, "Like hell, but Eric patches me up. I feel a lot better than before" He said, there was the hint of a grin on his face.

Eric had cleaned him up well, Rick could see, even stitching the deep cut on Aaron's left cheek.

"I, uh, brought you some painkillers. They had some left in Hilltop." The ebony haired man said.

Aaron smiled. "Really?" He asked, looking to Eric, who held up the bottle and shook it. "Oh - thank you. It's been rough."

"Yeah, I bet." Rick said, nodding a little. "When do you think you'll be able to go out again?"

Aaron shrugged modestly. "Two days, probably."

Eric cleared his throat and raised his ginger eyebrows. "You’ll need permission from your doctor before you do, babe,” He stated pointedly, smirking a bit.

"Alright. Get some rest. I just wanted you to know that... That we're gonna fight. Negan, that is."

A smile grew on Aaron's purple and black face. "Then I'm with you." He said.

"Thank you." Said Rick.

Eric looked down.

"You can sit down, Rick." Aaron invited.

Rick laughed a little, and sat down on the floor facing Aaron just a few feet away. Eric leaned down next to Aaron as well.

"I want to ask you, Eric... You were a doctor before all this, right?”

“I was a nurse, but I have quite a bit of trauma experience.”

"So you know... Illness? Wounds? What?" Rick inquired, interest sparking in his blue eyes.

Eric stroked Aaron's hand idly with a soft thumb. "Yeah, illness and battle wounds - gunshots, scratches, bruises... Stuff like that."

Rick nodded. "Would you want to take over in the infirmary? Tara said she’s handling it, but she only knows what she learned from Denise."

Eric nodded. "Yeah. I can do that."

"For now, though, just take care of Aaron." Rick said.

Eric huffed out a laugh. "Don't worry. I've got curly here covered. I'll keep him safe." The man promised, pecking a kiss on Aaron's forehead before standing up. 

"Thanks for coming, Rick." Eric said, smiling warmly. Rick stood up as well and nodded.

Once downstairs, the ebony haired man paused, "Hey," he said, and Eric turned to face him. "I'm sorry. For... For all of this." He apologized, referring to the state of their home.

Eric sighed, "It is what it is. Not your fault." Eric responded lightly.

"What happened to the photo of you guys?" Rick asked, motioning to the empty space on the wall.

The pale man smiled a little. "It wasn't safe for us to keep it there with all of the unannounced house guests tramping in and out. So... We hid it along with other personal things like the license plates and the photo albums. We also managed to hide our menorah we found on a run under our floorboards."

Rick frowned a little, but nodded and kept walking.  
"  
Goodbye, Rick." Eric said as they reached the porch. He reached out a slender hand for Rick to shake. He did so, surprised by the Eric’s firm grip.

"Nice to talk to you." Rick responded, and turned to walk away from the porch.  
********************************************  
Days later, Eric cleared Aaron for his first run in a while. 

“We should have a hard mode,” Eric suggested as they made their way back to Alexandria with only a crate of dishwashing soap in the backseat to show for their run. “One pile of license plates that we only collect in alphabetical order. That pile can be a game. Whoever collects the most letters wins.”

“You only want to do that because you found Alabama today,” Aaron accused, but he could have been swayed to go along with anything Eric wanted at the moment.

Seeing Spencer and Olivia killed right in front of him had shaken him up, and having a gun pulled on them - one flick of the trigger away from one or both of them adding to the body count - was keeping them both up. Aaron wasn’t sleeping much at all due to his injuries, but when he did manage to fall asleep, he was often woken up by Eric’s nightmares. After two weeks of restless nights and tense afternoons, Eric had insisted on coming out with Aaron. The only reason he agreed was because Eric’s nerves were starting to take a toll on his appetite too, and he was hoping that getting out of Alexandria for a few hours would give him the distance he needed to eat, and if not, sleep through the night. He could see Eric was getting thinner and more tired by the day.

“There are forty-nine states left. Plenty of time for you to get competitive. Before, you know, you inevitably lose.” Eric spider-crawled his fingers up his shoulder in teasing, and Aaron felt a wonderful, almost foreign at this point, impulse to laugh, which was promptly squashed with his next words. “Guess I’ll have to start coming out more, so you don’t jump ahead.” There went his hope to quietly make this a one-time deal.

“I don’t like you risking your life out here.”

Eric’s hand lingered on his shoulder, fingers trailing over his neck. “That’s so weird, because it’s fun for me. Every time you go out and I have to think if you’re even going to come home, I sneak into the community pantry to bake a celebratory cake.”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

“What about my ass?”

Aaron glanced at him and couldn’t help a crooked smile despite the reservations building at the idea of Eric making a routine of leaving Alexandria’s walls and the inevitable confrontation when he tried to put his, admittedly hypocritical, foot down on the issue. He couldn’t take it. When that gun had swung their way and aimed at Eric, the fear that gripped him had been primal. It was the flare going off all those months ago and rushing to find him with his ankle broken, thinking he was bitten or gone. It was wondering if their life - his life, if it came to it - was over.

Before he could argue more or Eric could weaken his resolve with the hand on his neck that had moved to his thigh, the car gave a rattling cough, stalled out, and died. Of course it did. He could go on runs for months with no automobile trouble, but obviously the one time he brought Eric back out with him, things would blow to hell. Sounded about right.

An inspection of the engine yielded a simple answer, “We’re walking.”

He couldn’t remember the last time they went for a walk, which was sad since it was one of the only date options inside the walls. Eric must have been thinking the same thing as he thread their fingers together and smiled at him.

“Let’s not go home,” he proposed.

“Where should we go?” Aaron played along, because life was impossibly small now. Fantasies were as far as they could travel safely anymore. How many planes had they been on together? How many hotels had they stayed at or tourist spots had they seen when they were working for the NGO or traveling between missions? Now, they were lucky to drive down the road and make it home in one piece.

“A bowling alley. Or the mall. I want a soft pretzel.”

Aaron sighed at the thought, “The movies.” He couldn’t remember what was playing at the theaters when they started packing their clothes to evacuate, what movies they skipped out on seeing and now would never have a chance to watch.

“Remember that trip to California when I met your parents for the first time? God I was so nervous, but that trip was amazing with the hikes and the beach,” Aaron smirked.

Eric kisses his temple, remembering the wonderful trip, “How could I forget?” 

As if it weren’t the end of the world and their lives weren’t in constant danger, the two fell into their normal routine of joking and talking. Aaron snorted at something Eric had said and let go of his hand to push him sideways. It should not have felt so good to be stranded with nothing but knives for protection, but seeing Eric smile, hearing him laugh, relieved a huge weight from his heart. They were afraid, and that fear was keeping them alive, but they needed this. This was why staying alive mattered. Aaron shook his head as he pulled him in for a kiss. That was something else they needed. Eric’s arms went around his neck, and he deepened the kiss there on the side of the road surrounded by trees on either side and who knew what else.

For that moment, it was just the two of them—nothing else. He held on to those moments like a vice. They needed food and water and weapons to survive. They needed each other to live. It was a distinction he learned when the flare shot up and the gun pointed to Eric’s head. He would live as long as he could. Survival was secondary.

As he pulled back, those priorities clashed as movement behind Eric dragged his attention down the road where two big trucks were driving directly towards them. The one in front had a horse trailer attached to the back. His heart sank the closer they got and he was able to identify them. It was the Saviors. Of course it was.

Eric’s hands were on his jacket, and Aaron wanted to run. He wanted to get him out of there, but they were in full view. There was nowhere to hide, and he didn’t think Negan would have been impressed with them tearing off through the trees. That sounded like a good way to catch a couple of bullets in their backs.

“Should we stick our thumbs out?” Eric tried for levity but only ended up exposing the sinking feeling that was hitting Aaron too.

“We’ll be okay,” he said, knowing no such thing but willing it to be true. “We’ll ride this out and go home.”

Eric was staring at his face, his big brown eyes full of worry, and he knew he was looking at the bruises that were still fading.

Aaron took his face in his hands, “No matter what,” Aaron insisted, “we ride it out, and we both go home. Okay?” He would take another beating. He would take a hundred beatings if that was the price of keeping his family together, small as it was

“Okay,” Eric whispered, stoking Aaron’s cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, preparing for what might happen to them.

The trucks slowed and came to a stop beside them. The passenger side window lowered, and Negan himself leaned over to talk to them from behind the wheel.

“Well, hello! You boys having car trouble? I hate when that happens.” He grinned, big and toothy, and Aaron hated him for it, “Want a ride?”

“It’s a nice day for a walk,” he replied.  
Negan threw his head back, grin broadening. He waved them over.

“You want a ride,” he decided.

The person riding up front with him hopped out and stood beside it with his gun at his side, waiting for them to comply and forfeit their weapons before walking to the other truck.

“Be polite,” Eric whispered as they walked over, which was the quickest way to remind him that snarking off would get their heads bashed in with a barbed wire bat as quickly as it would make Negan laugh; there was no way to tell.

Aaron tried to get in first so Eric wouldn’t have to sit next to Negan, but he shook his head and held a hand up, pointing to Eric and crooking his finger for him to come up instead.

“Eric’s skinnier,” he said. “A man needs his space. He’ll eat up less.”

Aaron was pretty certain the only reason he cared was because he could tell that he did. That was something else Negan did that he hated. He dug into people and found the best way to scratch until the person he was antagonizing felt like they were covered in fire ants, right before he killed them.

He shared a look with Eric and mouth ‘it’s okay’, even though it wasn’t even in the same hemisphere as okay. He gave him a hand up. Eric kept his eyes on his own lap as Aaron got up next and closed the door.

“Well boys, it is so nice to see you again," he said as they started driving. "It is my pleasure to taxi you around today. You guys shopping for me, or do you always drive out to the middle of nowhere to make out on the road? Don’t tell me Alexandria doesn’t have a Pride parade yet. Build a float. Be the change.”

“We were scavenging,” Aaron said tightly.

“Oh yeah. My boys already relieved your car of its loot. I am going to have such clean dishes here on out. Thank you very much.”

“Don’t mention it,” Eric said, and even knowing what he was doing, Aaron wished he’d give Negan the silent treatment. The less said, the less he could take issue with.

“Thank you, Eric. Now that’s the kind of courtesy I’ve been looking for out of your boy, Rick. Your other boy.”

He winked over at Aaron, and his stomach turned. The strained, not entirely convincing, look of passivity on his face sparked interest in Negan, and if it got the attention off of Eric, he was fine with that.

“So!” Negan hit the steering wheel, and Eric flinched hard. Aaron moved his hand to his leg with a subtle squeeze. “I was thinking about y’all just the other day after you man here came back to our little game of pool looking like shit. You look good! Eric patch you up?”

Aaron had to stare straight out the windshield and clench his fist to keep from speaking.

“Um,” Eric cleared his throat softly, “Yeah. I used to be a nurse.”

“Wowee! You must be a valuable asset to Alexandria then since my buddy, D, took care of your other nurse. Such a shame.” Negan reached out suddenly, and Aaron turned in his seat without thinking, reactionary and unsure what he was going to do but knowing he had to do something if he was moving on Eric. Negan, watching him with entertained eyes that knew exactly what he was doing, setting him off - simply flipped the CD player on. It was Eric’s turn to lay a calming hand on Aaron’s leg.

“Come on over if you, you know, change your mind, feel experimental. I used to have this girlfriend back in the day that liked to bang chicks. She’d tell me sexuality is fluid. I don’t know what the shit that means. Maybe you’ll want a turn with my wives and I’ll be chasing dick one of these days, huh? Hell, maybe you’ll be in my harem, Eric. How does that kind of special attention sound, huh, Eric?”

Eric squeezed Aaron’s knee at the thought and closed his eyes. 

Negan locked eyes with Aaron in the rearview mirror, eyes lit up from weaponizing his bullshit the way he seemed to enjoy so much, pushing people to their limits, nudging them to act out on him so he could react in kind. He could have killed them at any time, sure, but he liked to position people on his board with the rules he would or wouldn’t follow depending on how homicidal he was feeling that day. It was a risky game to play, considering how high his normal homicidal baseline was. Aaron wasn’t playing, for his own sake and for Eric’s.  
As much as he would have loved to be the guy, the one that took him out, took the head off the network and started the work of destroying the Saviors, he knew that fell to Rick. Making any kind of move now would just put them at more risk.

Negan elbowed Eric. “Your man over there keeps looking at me like he’s afraid we’re gonna hit it off, and I’ll sweep you off your feet. I think we should calm him right the hell down, don’t you? Let’s give him some peace of mind.”

The truck slowed down and came to a stop.

Aaron was filled with something worse than fear, helplessness. He could shoot them both dead. He could pull off the road and bash Eric’s head in, and there was nothing he could do about any of it. Until Negan was gone, none of them had any control over anything. He was wrong before. It wasn’t enough that their hearts were still beating. He wanted a guarantee that they would keep beating. He wanted more than the uncertain promise of the next few seconds.

“Please,” Eric murmured, and there were too many things he could have been asking but the way his arm went up and out in front of Aaron instinctively made Aaron hurt, the need to protect him was so intense.

“‘You’re welcome’, ‘please’,” Negan parroted. “Somebody went to charm school. I like you. You’ve got good manners. Even more reason to appease your man, so you don’t end up in a lovers' quarrel. You guys can sit in the back with the rest of the cattle for the rest of the ride. Sound good, Curly?”

Panic seized him and went white hot as Negan hopped out of the truck, grabbed Eric by the collar and hauled him out onto the road so hard that he stumbled over and dropped to his knees.

“Hey!” Aaron scrambled over the seat after them, and Negan wagged a chastising finger in front of his face as soon as his shoes hit the street.

“Watch your manners,” he warned. “Driver gets to pick the music and where the hitchhikers sit. And I say there’s not enough room for three of us in the truck.” Negan grabbed Eric by the back of the collar and yanked him to his feet, holding him there.

“Wait!” Aaron raised both arms, palms out and willed himself to stay calm, stay clear, but the stricken look on Eric’s face was sending sparks of panic throughout his whole body. “We just want to get back. We were getting stuff for you. We’ll keep doing that. You don’t—Please. Please, don’t.”

“‘Please!’ There it is!” Negan yelled enthusiastically. “People always get so damn polite when they think their friends are fixing to have their guts acquainted with pavement.”

“Oh, God,” Eric nearly whimpered, and Aaron squeezed his eyes shut a moment to keep himself there and now and not back in front of the pool table staring at Spencer lying disemboweled on the street. “Aaron…”

“It’s alright, Eric,” he placated him in soft tones with a small nod and nowhere near the conviction he needed to take the awful look of terror off his face. “There’s no room in the truck, that’s fine. Just leave us. We’ll walk home. It’s… no trouble.”  
Negan scoffed and looked around at two of the men that had gotten out of the other truck and were standing guard nearby.

“Now how rude would that be?” he argued. “To just leave you here, two friends in need, on the side of the road—who knows what kind of nasty thing could creep up on you? I said I would give you a ride, and that’s what I’m gonna do. You go in the back. Lucille wants to stretch her legs anyway. You and Eric were cramping up the front.”

Negan shoved Eric towards the trailer at the back, still holding him by the collar, and Aaron started forward. The guards raised their guns, and he stopped, realizing Negan had him by the collar without laying a hand on him. He followed them to the back, each step measured to be unthreatening.

“I’ll try to avoid any speed bumps.” After a moment, he gave Eric a rough shake, and Aaron almost lost his resolve and jumped on him. One second at a time. One millisecond. Negan leaned in close to Eric’s ear, furrowing his brow in disappointment. “Can I get a thank you? You’ve been such a sweetheart. Don’t let me down now.”

Eric’s eyes slid to Aaron, and he thought of the NGO missions, of bad men with guns on the river delta, and how good people seemed to outnumber men like that even with a gun in his face. He wasn’t sure of the ratio anymore.  
Through uneven, shaky breaths, he managed to murmur, “Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome!”

Negan opened the back of the trailer and threw Eric up inside of it as Aaron’s eyes were still widening at the pile of dead bodies in the back. There were two. They looked fresh but didn’t smell that way.

“Don’t mind the company,” Negan said as he pushed Aaron towards the back. “I’m bringing ‘em home for my fence. I’m a bit of a collector. Make sure you don’t damage my property.”

Aaron got in, and the door was locked behind them. Negan whistled all the way back to the driver’s seat. Sun slid through the holes in the trailer, but many of the rusted slats had been sealed shut from the outside. Even in the middle of the afternoon, the trailer was mostly darkness and shadows.  
Aaron hurried to Eric as the truck started to move, and they hugged, kneeling there on the floor— relieved, fraught, and miserable—until a low moan at the other end of the trailer caught their attention. They pulled back to look. One of the dead bodies was coming around. Like the moans were an alarm, the second body began to stir back to life.

He wanted to go over and stomp their heads in before they could get up, but Negan had specifically said not to damage them. He was afraid a consequence of bashing their skulls in might have meant having a heart-to-heart with Lucille.  
The walkers struggled to their feet as he and Aaron got up across from them. He took a step forward as the walkers came.

Eric stepped up to his side and stood close to him as they prepared to fight.

Both men spent the ride home shoving the newly transformed walkers back as they blocked each other from the mindless monsters threatening to bite them.

By the time Negan opened the trailer door, they were exhausted from constantly dodging, pushing, beating the walkers back, and keeping constant track of each other.

“They’re awake! Good morning, sunshines!” Negan greeted the dead as Eric and Aaron jumped down panting and put as much quick distance between them and the walkers that fell after them as possible.

They were outside the wall of Alexandria at the gate. He could hardly believe it. In the back of his mind while each of Eric’s cries of distress had sharpened his senses and given him the energy to keep aggressively defending him, he wondered if it was for nothing, if Negan was driving them back to his compound to kill. Rick and the group would never have known the difference. They would have disappeared without a trace.

“Where you going?” Negan called after the walkers that made determined lines for them. He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this, girls. This was only a pit stop. Daddy never said to get out of the car.”  
Instead of taking the time to order someone to wrangle them back into the truck, he raised his gun and fired two shots into each of their heads. They were close enough that the blood splattered over their clothes. Aaron flinched against the spray and watched the bodies drop as his muscles still ached from having to fight them off for the last half hour, for nothing. The flash of humor in Negan’s eyes told him that was the point.

“Don’t you hate it when kids don’t listen.” Negan shook his head and turned with a wave. “Bye, Eric,” He grinned at Aaron. “I’d keep my eye on that one.” He stage-whispered, “He wants an application for my harem. Not my type, but Lucille, on the other hand, is always chasing ass. She’s a real intellectual type, more interested in a person’s brain. No gender bias. Who knows? Could be a good match.”

Aaron stepped in front of Eric, who went pale at the unsubtle threat, as the fence was pulled back and opened. It was exactly the reaction he wanted. Negan laughed as he got back in the truck, and he hoped it was one of his last. Someone like that had to be running out.

He watched the truck disappear down the road with the other one and felt sure they were closing in on the end. Their situation wasn’t sustainable. Taking a beating hadn’t driven that point home, but watching his people killed right in front of him, knowing Eric was on the Saviors’ radar, seeing Negan’s smile shine through all the cruelty—it couldn’t hold. And when it broke, he would make sure he and Eric were on the right side of the wreckage.


	4. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Eric fight over whether or not they should fight the Saviors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

A day since the incident on the road had passed, and Aaron saw his opportunity to join Rick in leading the fight against Negan when Gabriel turned up missing. The only piece of the puzzle was convincing Eric. For so long Aaron has believed compliance was the answer, but he didn’t want to sit by thinking he could lose Eric at any given moment. He wanted to fight for their chance to truly live again. He couldn’t let Eric know he was leaving and that his intentions were to raise an army at this point. Though it broke his heart, he had to act fast and without Eric knowing.

“So that's it? You're finally leaving me?”

Aaron turned to see his husband leaning in the hallway. He had a smile on his face, but he could tell Eric was hurting, “You caught me. I'm just... sick of being so damn happy at home, you know?” He said sarcastically. At that Eric chuckled. He had to be honest, “Didn't know how to tell you.” 

“Babe—“

“They need me. Gabriel needs me.”

Eric made his way over to the love of his life, “If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?”

He could never lie to Eric, “Of course.”

“The others didn't go out there scavenging, did they? They're going after them again, and they're not telling us,” Eric was tired of Rick’s group going behind their backs, especially on an issue like this. Both him and Aaron had targets on their backs, but Rick still decided to keep him out of the loop. 

“Rick has his reasons.” 

“Rick didn't get the shit beaten out of him,” Eric said flatly, “You think this is about Gabriel, but it's gonna be more. It's always more,” he thought of Aaron in that line up, so close to losing his husband. The satellite post attack was a perfect example of not having all of the facts and underestimating the Saviors. If they were in a situation where they were in over their heads again, they could lose each other, “So, please, please don't go.”

Aaron’s heart broke. He knew Eric was right. He had always been the logical smart one. He knew Eric would fight any other time, but at the moment they were outnumbered and outgunned. He was right. But he still had to try for Gabriel.

“Gabriel's one of us. I have to. What's going on with the Saviors, that isn't this.”

Eric was frustrated that Aaron couldn’t connect the dots, “If Rick is taking on the Saviors, that is everything. W-What if they find out while you're gone? What if they come back here?” 

“Do you want to leave? Just turn our backs?” Eric knew that wasn’t an option. He didn’t want to abandon Gabriel, but he couldn’t let Rick lead them into a massacre.

“I want us alive. Both of us,” he put his hands firmly on Aaron’s cheeks.

“This is just about Gabriel, I promise.”

“I hope so. For Alexandria’s sake,” he kissed Aaron’s forehead, “I-I can’t lose you.”

“I can’t lose you either. I am so scared every single day. That’s why we have to go out there and search for allies—Not pick fights with Saviors. We just have to find people—Like we’ve always done,” he pulled Eric close and kissed his lips.

“Okay, but you better come back in one piece.”

Aaron smiled, “Anything for you.”

“You know I’m not happy about this.”

“I know, and I-I’m sorry, but I have to.”  
********************************************  
The house was quieter than normal, a brittle tension in the air as Aaron iced the newest bruise on his face and Eric stared moodily into the fireplace. Going after Gabriel against Eric's wishes had been, Aaron quietly conceded, a bad idea even if it was the right thing to do. Bad because Eric had pleaded with him not to go, to sit this one out, and Aaron hadn’t listened. Bad because—once again—Aaron had come crawling home, injured. He’d worried the entire way home what Eric would say when he saw him, trying to think of something clever to say that would lighten the mood, but the words had failed him the moment he saw the disappointment on Eric’s face.

“I’m sor—“

Eric held up his hands to stop the apology, not wanting to hear it. He’d simply led Aaron upstairs to the bathroom to clean and bandage him up, yet again. 

The disappointment had been punishment enough, but now—even after a couple of hours had passed—Eric hadn’t spoken a word to him. Aaron wanted to explain what happened, wanted to tell him about the junkyard people and the new deal Rick had made, but more importantly, he just wanted Eric to forgive him and not be angry anymore.

Laying against one end of the couch and looking at his husband, Aaron couldn't take the silence anymore. He placed his hand on Eric’s thigh.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Eric replied automatically. “But I’m still angry with you.”

“Why?” Aaron asked, playing stupid just to get the other man talking.

It worked. Eric looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. “Why? Really, Aaron?”

“I didn’t go out there hoping to get beat up again.”

Eric sighed in frustration and pressed his palms against his eyes. “You don’t get it, babe!”

“Tell me…” Aaron implored calmly, sitting up and setting the ice pack aside. “Talk to me. Please. This silent treatment is killing me.”

“I said everything I needed to say earlier. You went out there anyway.”

“Eric—“

“This is tearing us apart,” Eric interrupted, his voice shaking on the verge of tears. “We used to agree on everything. We used to always be on the same page. I feel like I’m losing you and I don’t understand why.”

“Babe…” Aaron moved closer to Eric and put his arm around his shoulder. Before he could say more, Eric pressed on.

“I know you feel responsible for what’s happened, but you’re not. It wasn’t your fault, but it’s like you’ve been trying to make up for it regardless by putting your own life on the line.”

“We owe these people our lives, Eric. Rick, Maggie…all of them. You might not be here if it wasn’t for them. That’s a debt I can never repay.”

Eric reeled back, “You’re doing all of this because of me?”

“I’m doing this for us. For all of us. You really want to live like this? Foraging shit for the Saviors? Having our house ransacked because we have stuff they want, and just letting them take it?”

“I told you what I want; all I want. Us alive. You and me. I’m just asking you to stop going out there when you don’t have to. You know we are outnumbered. You know we don’t have weapons. We couldn’t put up any sort of fight, and you know it. We can’t ask these people to risk their lives. I can’t lose you in some meaningless way. Please, take a minute to think before to put yourself in harms way.”

Aaron shook his head sadly. “I can’t do that, Eric. We need to be out there, helping them. That’s how I make sure that we survive this.”

A tear streaked down Eric’s cheek as the two looked at one another, an invisible line drawn between them. The mix of violence and threats and now arguments was breaking his heart. “We’re never going to agree on this, are we?”

“Not now at least.” Aaron answered softly, voice trembling with emotion, a tear streaking down his cheek.

Eric swallowed hard, nodding as more tears rolled down his cheeks. “I…I need to be alone for a little while.”

Aaron closed his eyes as Eric rose to his feet, moving towards the stairs. He spoke before Eric could get too far away. “Rick made a deal today.” He heard Eric stop to listen. “The people we found have guns. They’re going to help us make a stand against the Saviors. We’re going to need everyone who’s capable of fighting to fight. I don’t know if it will be enough, but we have to try.”

“Since when are we trusting strangers this quickly?” He asked as he laughed humorlessly, covering his face with his hands and taking a deep breath. “When?”

Aaron turned on the couch so that he could see Eric, staring at the other man’s back. “Soon. A few days maybe. Rick’s going back to the Hilltop and Kingdom tomorrow to recruit them again.”

Eric stood rooted to the spot for a moment, processing the words, then continued upstairs without commenting. He closed the bedroom door and laid down on the pallet of blankets on the floor, where he finally gave in to his tears. He felt like they were all on a train that was barreling full-speed down the tracks towards another oncoming train. The collision wasn’t going to be pretty. He could feel in his gut that this wasn’t going to turn out the way Rick and Aaron and all the others expected it would. He hoped it would, but deep down he knew what this was going to cost them.

The room had grown dark around Eric as he laid there, finally cried out, considering every option available to him. He knew his priority was Aaron, and Aaron’s priority was him. It was just their methods that they disagreed on. One of them was going to have to bend a little if both of them were going to survive this together, and Eric knew it had to be him. He was going to have to step up and fight beside Aaron, come what may, or he would lose him—And that simply wasn’t an option.

The bedroom door creaked open and Eric looked back over his shoulder to see Aaron poking his head in. He reached his hand out to his lover, who came into the room and sank down on the blankets next to Eric, laying on his side and spooning behind him. Eric’s arms wrapped across Aaron’s as the other man held him tightly from behind.

“I’m sorry,” Aaron murmured, nuzzling the ginger’s pale neck.

“Me too.”

“I know you think I’m blindly running out there, but I promise I’m not—“

“I know…” Eric interrupted softly. He turned in Aaron’s arms to face him, tangling his legs with his lover’s and peering at him in the darkness, “I understand. I’m just terrified that we are going into this blindly. You and I have always been so careful. We were careful at the beginning in Alexandria, on our runs, with Rick’s group. Being reckless is how we ended up in that basement. I know it’s right to fight, but I don’t think we are prepared just now.”

Aaron placed his hand on the back of Eric’s neck and drew their heads together until their foreheads touched, “You’re right... but I don’t know if we have a choice. The longer we wait, the stronger they get.” 

Eric laughed softly. “I know. I just can’t stop thinking about you.”

Aaron couldn’t help but smile softly at the sound of Eric’s laugh and the fact that Eric thought of him, brushing his nose against the other man’s. “This isn’t meaningless to me. This is about fighting for our right to live.”

“I know,” Eric sighed. “I’m not going to let you risk your life out there alone.”

“Eric—“

Eric pressed his fingertips to Aaron’s lips, stopping his protest. “We’re going to be out there, risking our lives together.”

Recognition dawned on Aaron and he waited for Eric to move his fingers away before he spoke. “You don’t have to—“

“I do,” Eric cut him off again, gripping the back of Aaron’s neck. “I do because protecting you is my priority and if this is the way to do that…then, count me in.”

Aaron laughed and attacked Eric with soft, languid kisses; the gentle molding of his lips against Eric’s in a series of sweet, chaste exchanges that slowly deepened, as Eric threw his head back laughing at Aaron’s response.

“Wow, I was not expecting that, babe.” A velvety tongue would trace Eric’s lower lip, pulling a heady exhalation from his lover as Eric eagerly opened his mouth.

“How about some music to set the mood?”

Eric chuckled, “You mean whatever plays when you turn on the iPod you found upstairs?”

“Yeah! Let’s at least give it a shot. You used to love the music.”

Eric ran his tongue back into Aaron’s mouth, kissing him deeply, “Okay, go for it.”

Aaron sat up and hit shuffle on the small iPod in his drawer. “Time of the Season” by The Zombies played through the speakers.

Both men couldn’t help but crack up laughing.

“Are you kidding me! The fucking Zombies! What a cruel joke,” Eric laughed.

“That is unfortunate name, but I think we should get back to business. I mean, it is a pretty good song,” Aaron chuckled.

“Couldn’t agree more.”

Next came the clothes. Deft fingers started toying with shirt buttons, carefully and methodically slipping each one free of the button hole until the fabric fell open down their torsos. Aaron’s hands glided down Eric’s chest, sliding sweetly along his shoulders, easing the shirt down his   
arms before discarding it to the floor. 

Aaron pulled him back into a greedy kiss by this point. With Eric laying on his back, Aaron would moved to straddle his lap, long legs wrapping around his waist. Aaron left a sweet, gentle trail of adoration paved along Eric’s skin as he kissed from the man’s lips, slowly down his throat, across his clavicle, over his shoulder, and up the side of his neck. He would carve the same path on Aaron’s other side while his fingertips skimmed in feather-soft touches up and down Eric’s arms, chest and back.

Eric’s arms wrapped tightly around Aaron, his face burrowing in against the man’s neck and breathing in his scent. Eric pulled Aaron’s forehead to rest against his, as they simply held one another for several moments. Eventually Aaron’s hand would worm its way beneath the elastic of Eric’s boxers, finding that tender spot that would make Eric arch into him and breath deep, hips rolling almost involuntarily.

“This okay?” Aaron asked against Eric’s neck.

“Yeah,” he answered breathlessly, “don’t stop.”

Aaron smiled as he pulled off Eric’s pants and then his own. He moved on to deliver wet kisses and sucks to Eric’s nipples, as Eric sighed and arched below him. Carefully, he traced his fingers over Eric’s scars that twisted around his torso. 

“God, you’re beautiful.”

Eric hummed in pleasure.

Where his hand had been just a moment ago, he leaned down and kissed. He left a trail of loving kisses from Eric’s chest, down his stomach to his manhood.   
A long, slow lick was gifted from Eric’s hole all the way to the silky head of Eric’s shaft. Fingers would twist in whatever curly locks were available on Aaron’s head as the man beneath him hissed in pleasure.

As Aaron used his mouth to pleasure his husband, he began preparing him. In a matter of minutes Eric was nearly writhing beneath him, moaning in pleasure. Aaron, gazing lovingly down at his partner as the man fished in the nightstand for the well-loved bottle of lube, finding Eric’s lips in a deep, sensual, appreciative kiss as he prepped them both. A strong hand would pull Eric’s leg up against Aaron’s hip, and their eyes would lock onto other another as they connected on every level.

Their lovemaking was almost more than purely physical in those moments. They could feel their souls intertwine. Fingers would lace tightly, declarations of love whispered. Slow and sweet and deep they would burn together. Aaron’s brow would glisten with perspiration as he found his rhythm with Eric.

Trembling and breathing deeply, Aaron’s body would sink down over Eric’s; the pair holding each other in a loving embrace before Aaron finally had the wits to ease out and move to the side. A sleepy sort of satisfaction would find them spooning together, listening to the storm outside, and dozing as they forgot about the impeding fight.


	5. The Attack**

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Saviors disobey Aaron’s refusal of Negan’s offer, and Eric pays the price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **pretty graphic rape scene
> 
> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

It was a bleak day as Aaron and Eric headed back to their home after meeting with Rick about their scavenging plans. The day had only begun, and they were worn out thinking about having to get supplies for the man that had enslaved them, as they carried what little food was rationed to them. 

Everyone had been so stressed lately, and Aaron knew some of the less-than-friendly residents had begun taking out their anger on the woman in charge of allocating rations, as if it would magically produce more food. He was hungry too, but every building he and Eric searched for supplies turned up empty. Any place within miles of Alexandria had been picked apart at one point or another. There wasn’t anywhere to get premade food and winter was quickly approaching. It didn’t set up good odds for their little town, but they would find a way to manage. They had to.  
  
The moment Aaron stepped inside their house with his husband, the tension eased out of him, as it usually did when the warmth of home settled over him. He set the crate on the counter and started to really look through the food.  
  
“There’s…” Aaron paused to tally up his mental inventory, “about enough for two meals a day? Maybe?”  
  
Eric sighed, but quickly schooled his expression into its normal, chipper appearance. “Alright then. Two a day it is.”  
  
Normally, Aaron would acknowledge the façade, assure Eric he doesn’t have to pretend with him, but he’s distracted by other things. Namely, the veins clearly visibly through the near-translucent skin of Eric’s forearm as he reaches for vegetables, the way his ribs jut further out from his chest every time Aaron sees him. Eric was strong as hell, but he had the fastest metabolism of anyone he knew. With the more they ran about, the less they were able to eat, the more Eric dropped weight he couldn’t afford to lose.  
  
Eric returned to the counter, but paused before grabbing the next batch of food. “What’s up?” he asked, stepping closer to Aaron. “Is something wrong?”  
  
“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just…” Aaron’s hands settled on Eric’s waist, thumbs brushing his bottom ribs. His eyes linger on the sharp dip beneath them.  
  
“I’m fine,” Eric assures, smiling softly to appease his husband’s worry. “And besides, Rosita and Michonne went out a lot farther yesterday. I’m sure they’ll find something.”  
  
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Nerves still knotted in his stomach, but he returned the smile.  
  
“When am I not?” Eric jokes. He steps away from Aaron and pushes himself up onto the marble island.

“We’re going to be okay. I know it,” Eric took his hands and kissed them, “I love you.”

Aaron looked tiredly at Eric, “I love you too.” They took a breath together. 

“Okay, I’m going to get started on some laundry. Can you get the composting stuff ready for the garden?”

“On it,” Aaron smiled, kissing the crown of Eric’s red hair. 

As Eric headed upstairs, Aaron cleared his throat and went to work. He took the compost bin that contained their food waste, minimal as it was and added it to the garden Eric started in the yard. Though it was in their yard, they wanted to share with everyone, they just felt like it was more discreet in their own yard. 

When he came back into the house he could hear Eric humming as he dropped off the basket of laundry at the door of the stairs. He smiled as he watched him go back up for something he probably forgot. 

His smile quickly faded when he heard the loud footsteps and men talking on their porch. Aaron peaked through his curtain and his heart sank, Davy, the man who beat him and five other men stood at the front door, all smirking, three holding guns.

Before he could call out to Eric, the men kicked open their door and ganged up on Aaron, slamming his back against the wall while one whipped his head back with his pistol. Aaron fell down on his knees, and Davy stood over him as the other two saviors held him tightly in place by his arms. Guns pointed at his skull. He could feel one man tugging at a couple of zip ties around his wrist. 

Before he could orient himself, Davy took a shirt from the laundry and tore it into a strip, effectively creating a gag for Aaron’s mouth. 

“You three, go get the other one.”

Aaron screamed through the gag, trying to warn Eric, but it was no use. He fought as hard as he could, but one of the men simply placed the cool barrel of the gun against his temple, and he knew there was nothing he could do. 

Panic rose in his chest as he heard Eric and the men in a struggle upstairs. Something had been knocked over and he could here Eric scream. All was silent for a moment, and Aaron thought he was going to lose it, until he heard Eric groan and the door opening. 

Aaron whimpered as Eric was forcefully dragged down the stairs by the men. Blood was running down from a cut somewhere on his head. From what Aaron could tell, he put up a fight, one of the men had deep scratches across his neck while the other’s lip and nose were bleeding. Despite this Eric was the one being dragged and bleeding. 

“The queer knocked Marv out, but he should be up in a bit,” growled one of the other men roughly shoving a dazed Eric down the stairs. 

They pulled both Aaron and Eric into the living room, positioning them to where they were facing each other. Eric looked at Aaron with fear in his brown eyes as Davy tied his wrists in front of him and used a sock to muffle his mouth. 

Davy stepped back and admired his work, smiling with that creepy smile he had. "Damn you look like shit Buddy!", he said, forcefully pulling Eric’s head back by his hair, eliciting a groan from the man. Aaron whimpered and fought against his restraints. 

"So Negan told me and my boys that you ain't taking the, very good, deal he offered you”, Davy carried on with a frown, "You realise that I haven't got laid in a long ass time. Negan won't let me have my way with any of the women at the Sanctuary—says I scare them too much. But when we came here, I saw your boyfriend... and such a pretty little thing he is. So delicate,” he man whispered as he trailed his hand down Eric’s chest, and yanked his head back again. Eric had tears in his eyes as he tried to pull away, but he was too weak. “You never know. He might like the struggle and how rough I can get", Davy said, leaning in close to Eric’s face, “I like that he has the more innocent look compared to men like yourself, it's much hotter when they are begging you no.”

Eric shut his eyes with disgust as Davy dragged his tongue up the side of Eric's face, “Strip him.”

Eric cried out behind the gag as he was manhandled, and his clothing was torn and cut off of him. Davy smirked as he peaked into Eric’s underwear before ripping it off. He couldn’t help the tears that streamed down his face as he was sitting there shaking and exposed.

Aaron was more scared than he had ever been in his life. He continued to try to jerk away from the men, but their grip was strong, and the guns made sure he knew he was powerless. Eric’s pale, scarred skin was flushed and though his expression was blank Aaron could see tears slipping down his cheeks, and his heart shattered. 

"Mmm, that’s nice. I'm going to enjoy this." Davy purred as he raked his rough hands over Eric’s torso, making sure to scratch at the long gouges running over his side. He brushed a thumb over Eric’s full bottom lip, "Such a pretty mouth, tell me, is it as good as it looks?"

Aaron screamed at Davy, crying at how helpless he was. He ran his hand down Eric’s chest and stomach then grasped his flaccid cock. He stroked it slowly and the blush on his face deepened as his cock began to harden. Eric tried to pull away at the unwanted pleasure, and let out a mix between a whimper and a moan at the contact. He grimaced and squirmed uncomfortably. Davy laughed at his involuntary response.

“Hmm... you like my touch don’t you?” Eric cried out as he pressed a kiss to the tip of his cock and suckled. He could hear the tears gurgling in the pained noises emitting from his throat, as he instinctively tried to escape the sensations being inflicted on him, “Hold his arms,” Davy whispered to the men, a lustful look raking over his face. 

He pushed Eric to the ground and moved down to Eric’s ankles where he utilized three more zip ties, as Eric squirmed on the floor against the men who pinned his arms above his head to the floor. 

Davy clicked open his belt buckle and began to remove his clothes, freeing his hard cock. He growled and straddled Eric’s naked body. He was trembling violently, but that just turned Davy on more. Davy’s hand ran along his collarbone, down his ribs to his hip, and further. He then pulled back and delivered small licks with the tip of his tongue over Eric’s nipples, down is trembling torso and navel to the inside of his thigh.

He finally removed the sock from within Eric’s mouth. Once free, Eric let out heartbreaking cries, “Please don’t...” he sobbed, “please, no more,” he sobbed. Davy ground his hips into Eric’s. The squirming man under him made it all the more pleasurable. Davy moaned as he forcefully pressed his lips and tongue to Eric’s mouth. His lips were firm and insistent, his tongue caressing the inside of Eric's mouth, his hand on the back of the other's neck to restrain him from pulling back while the other grasped his chin tightly.

After he was sick of toying Eric, he scooted up to sit on his chest. He whimpered as Davy took his cock in hand and circled Eric’s mouth with it. With a groan, Davy thrust his member deep into Eric’s mouth. He tightened his hold on Eric's hair and thrust in deeper. His cock hit the back of Eric’s throat and he gagged. Davy pulled almost completely out before thrusting in again. Eric choked, his eyes rolling back as he tried to catch a breath. Between Davy on his chest restricting his breathing and the cock shoved down his throat, he couldn't breathe. He jerked his head back, trying to get away. Davy snarled and started fucking his mouth harder. Eric moaned desperately and tried to pull away again

Aaron was a sobbing mess as he watched helplessly as the love of his life cried and begged for it to stop. At this point he didn’t care if the men shot him, he needed to get Davy away, but the men were too strong. One of the men walked over to Aaron, a sadistic smirk crossed his face, “Got anything you want to say?” He pulled out Aaron’s gag.

“Please stop,” he cried, “I’ll do anything.... Take me instead. Please, sto—“ the gag was put back firmly in his mouth. 

Black started to creep up in the corners of his vision and panic squeezed his heart like an icy fist, as his lungs aches for breath and his jaws were pushed to their limit. He was trying to find any oxygen he could between the thrusting and gagging. Then, somewhere above him, Davy moaned obscenely, and Eric’s mouth was suddenly filled with his thick, salty, nauseating come. As Davy pulled out, Eric gasped for breath, and cried out. Every breath was a loud gasp, a long rattling moan as he inhaled. His head ached and his lungs burned. Come dripped from the corner of his mouth as he sobbed on the floor. 

Davy instructed his men to drag a weak Eric to the banister where they tied him to one of the metal bars of the railing. Hanging by his arms, Eric looked so helpless as whimpered. 

“P-please, no more,” he pleaded, “I can’t, I c—“

Davy placed the sock in his mouth again. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried desperately to control his breathing. He felt fingers slip into his crack and play with his hole. The fingers slid down his crack to stroke his perineum before pinching that tender flesh cruelly. He screamed and jerked against his bonds, he could hear Aaron screaming for him from a few feet away. All he wanted was Aaron to hold him. 

Realizing what was going to happen to him, Eric let out a terrified sob. When Davy ground his hips down, making sure that Eric felt his rock-hard cock, he couldn't help but whimper softly. He cried out hoarsely as the man pushed inside him. Eric bucked and writhed, trying to get away from the large member buried inside him. The mans grip on his thighs tightened, bruising the pale skin, and he pounded even harder, his thrusts clearly designed to hurt and punish, and Eric squeezed his eyes shut as the tears slid down his cheeks. He felt Davy’s tongue on his face, lapping up the tears and he cringed, trying to jerk away, Davy simply took hold of his hair again, and held him still. He could feel a warm sensation bleed down his thighs, knowing it was blood. 

The man was relentless and soon Eric’s screams turned to pained whimpers that stabbed at Aaron’s chest. His eyes widened and he sobbed breathlessly as the man came inside him.

Davy let out a satisfied moan as he finished, turning Eric around and kissing him through the gag one last time, admiring his handy work.

Aaron didn’t take his eyes off of Eric as he dangled from the railing, obviously traumatized and shaking in pain. There was a band of blood around his wrists where both zip ties were, and streaks of crimson running down his legs.

“Well that was quite something. Thanks boys,” he laughed maniacally as he pulled his pants up. All of the men were snickering at the sick display, “Oh, faggot, you’re probably gonna want this.”

Aaron still looking at Eric with immense worry in his eyes, only turned to look as he heard the sound of a hunting knife rattle on the floor. As the men departed, Aaron moved desperately fast to the knife to free himself. Once he cut through the zip tie with a cry, he wasted no time running to his lover. 

Eric sobbed as Aaron took the sock from his mouth and cut him down.

“Shhh, oh baby, I’m so sorry,” he cried, collecting Eric in his arms as he fell to the floor.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Eric’s sobs never diminishing as Aaron cradled him in his arms, rocking him gently on the floor as he couldn’t stop trembling. He softly kissed the top of Eric’s sweat soaked forehead and whispered gentle words to comfort him, carding his fingers through his hair. 

“Shhh, hey, honey? Can I help clean you up? It might make you more comfortable.”

“S-sure,” Eric choked out.

“Okay, sweetheart. I’m going to carry you up the bathroom.”

“O-okay.”

Aaron picked up his husband as gently as he could, just now noticing the pool of blood that had collected under him. Eric buried his face in Aaron’s shoulder as he carried him up and set him down on a towel over the toilet. That didn’t last long as Eric slid to the floor and violently heaved the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He rushed to his side, pulling Eric’s copper locks away from his face and resumed the gentle rubbing on Eric’s back. Aaron could feel the muscles tensing and relaxing wildly as Eric gulped heartily for air. He was hiccupping slightly, tiny noises of pain and displeasure escaping his throat as one of his hands clutched at Aaron’s hand, the other pressed against the cold surface of the white ceramic floor.

A few minutes passed before Eric leaned weakly back against the wall that was across from the toilet. His skin was a chalky white, and his hand was still clutching at Aaron’s. He was too weak to move for the toilet as he promptly vomited on the floor once more. 

Aaron stroked Eric’s hair and cheek as he kneeled in front of him, “I’m going to run you a bath, but first I want to look at your injuries, okay?”

Eric’s sobs subsided to whimpers and gasps, as he nodded to Aaron to go ahead, “I trust you...More than anything.”

Aaron smiled sadly, as he turned the faucet on and wet a washcloth with warm water, “Okay, this is going to be uncomfortable, so if you want me to stop just tell me. I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

Eric shook as he stood up, leaning forward slightly. Aaron gave him reassuring kisses and sweet words of encouragement as he wiped at the blood caking Eric’s torn bottom. Eric cried out, gripping the wall for dear life, “Shhh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Tears running down his face. 

Once the hard part was done, he turned Eric around, looking at his head wound. Thanks to Eric’s work, Aaron knew how to look at head injuries, “Can you follow my finger?”

Eric’s eyes were glassy and unfocused as he tried to follow Aaron’s finger back and forth. He probably had a concussion, “Okay, I can patch up your head when you’re in the bath.”

Eric nodded and reached out for Aaron’s arms. He carefully guided Eric into the tub, gently lowering him into the warm water. Eric cried out as he made contact with the water, shattering Aaron’s resolve as his chin shook and tears rolled down his cheeks. Despite the warmth, Eric was still shaking. Aaron grabbed the washcloth and the antiseptic from the counter and cleaned up the wound. Though it bled a lot, it wasn’t too deep. 

“What would you like me to do?” Aaron asked, caressing Eric’s cheek from the side of the tub.

“Can you just sit with me?” Eric asked softly. 

“Of course,” Aaron took Eric’s hands in his, as he pulled Eric’s shaking form into his arms across the tub. He could feel Eric relaxing in his arms as he drifted off into sleep. 

Aaron held Eric for half an hour as the water grew cold. Gently he ran a hand down his arm.

“Eric,“ he softly called. Eric flinched in his arms as he woke up, “It’s okay, it’s just me,” he felt Eric relax. He wasn’t shaking as bad, but he felt warm to Aaron, “Let’s get you to bed.”

Eric nodded tiredly, attempting to get up on his own, but reality quickly set in as he screamed in pain, “Ah!”

Aaron panicked as he rushed over to Eric, “Hey, it’s alright, I got you. I’m here.” 

Once he helped Eric our, he applied dressings to Eric’s bottom and head, “How does that feel?”

Eric sniffed, “B-better, thank you.”

Aaron hummed embracing his lover, “You taught me well.”

Aaron’s heart melted as he felt Eric smile softly into his shoulder. He let go and helped Eric into lose clothes and lowered him into the mess of blankets and pillows. He also gave him a heavy dose of leftover pain meds. He could feel Eric’s forehead beginning to burn. Once Eric was out, he put a cold washcloth across his forehead and a glass of water by his side. He signed and wiped at the tears that ran down his face. 

He pulled out a piece of paper from his bedside drawer and a pen, jotting down for Eric in case he woke up and Aaron was not there: 

‘Eric, if I’m not here when you wake up, I’m out trying to get some more meds. Sit tight, I will be back soon. I love you, sweetheart. -Aaron’

Aaron set the paper by the water and kissed Eric’s forehead which had began to burn up at an alarming rate. As he left the room, he could see where Eric had put up a fight from before. Anger and sadness swelled inside of him as he noticed the blood on in the doorway. The Saviors must have slammed his head into the wall. 

Taking a moment to collect himself and look back at his sleeping husband, dark circles around his eyes and neck stark against his pale skin. He walked out onto the porch, noticing the sun was still up and the Saviors were still there. His blood boiled as he saw Davy and his men in the distance. He didn’t care that Negan was right there, he had to make sure Davy knew not to touch his husband again. 

Aaron's fist shot out and promptly cracked against Davy's nose, and in a flash he knew was probably as good as dead right now.

Davy stumbled back clutching his now bleeding, probably broken, nose. "Fucking shit! You did not just do that!", He growled with anger. The two other men restrained Aaron. Davy cracked his nose back into place to fix it with a ruse word or two. "I'm going to enjoy this even more than the last time", Davy said punching Aaron in the stomach.

Aaron wheezed as he tried to draw in another breath so he could get back to fighting. That all stopped when Negan and Rick both intervened, pulling away their respective men. 

"What the shit is going on here?", Negan's voice boomed throughout the street. Enid ran up with Tara behind her, and Rick kept his hand on Aaron’s chest. 

"You damn well know what happened!" Aaron shouted, tears welling in his eyes, "Your men came for Eric!"

"God dammit Davy! I told you he said no! And what did you do? You tried this shit", Negan yelled at him before turning to Aaron. "I am truly sorry. Don't worry, he will be punished for this", he said to Aaron, a glimmer of a smirk in his eyes as he pulled out a revolver and shot Davy dead in the street. Everyone except for Negan and Aaron flinched as Davy fell to the ground. 

Negan gestured to his saviours to pick up Davy and the other beaten up saviour and to leave the street, to which they all did.

Rick gave nod, still shocked, "What...what did you mean they came for Eric?", Rick asked, starring at Negan.

Aaron looked painfully at the ground, “He- They r-,” he took a shaky breath and looked into Rick’s eyes, “He raped Eric.”

Enid and Tara gasped, and Rick lowered his head, Aaron could tell anger was taking over. 

Rick looked at Negan, who waited in anticipation to see how he would react, “Please, take your men and go. Just go.”

Surprisingly, Negan didn’t put up a fight, “You got it,” he said signally his group to move out as he threw Lucille over his shoulder, leaving Aaron and the rest of the Alexandrians in the street. 

Rick put his hand on Aaron’s should, “C-can we see him?”

Aaron whimpered, “Sure. He should be sleeping, but he has a pretty bad fever and maybe a concussion. I wouldn’t mind if Tara took a look at him, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Tara said, giving Aaron a sad smile, kissing him on the cheek. Enid took his hand as they headed to the house.


	6. Aftermath of the Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric recovers from the violent attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Tara sat down on the side of the bed with a slight sigh, gazing at Eric's face before looking at Rick, Enid and Aaron, who looked absolutely crushed. His eyes were red, dark circles displaying his exhaustion.

"Aaron, you should go get some sleep. Enid and I will stay with Eric until he wakes up." Tara said, not mentioning the fact that Eric was probably going to wake up within the next few minutes.

Aaron looked unsure for a moment, but Enid pushed at his shoulder, nodding her head towards the door to signal for Aaron to go. He kissed Eric’s hot forehead, and turned to go sleep in Enid’s room.

"Is he going to be okay?" Rick asked in almost a whisper of a voice as he glanced out into the hall to make sure that Aaron had really gone into the other room before closing his door.

"He should be." Tara answered in return as she got off the bed and sat down in the desk chair, looking at Rick. "He's probably going to get a wicked fever tonight though from the trauma and the concussion," she chewed nervously on her lip. "That will be the worst of it. But... even after that...” she shook her head sadly.

Rick stood darkly in the corner, guilt overwhelming him. There was a sudden rustle on the bed and his gaze turned away from Tara and back to the bed where Eric was starting to wake.

Their copper haired friend was frowning, and then ran his hand over his face, before opening his eyes, looking sleepy and confused. Eric blinked at the three of them, obviously trying to figure out where he was and how he had gotten here. His eyes suddenly flashed in recognition of Enid and Tara however, and his body relaxed visibly.

"Where’s Aaron?," He asked in a soft voice that was very hoarse. Sweat covered his face as he furrowed his brow in concern.

"Shh, shh," Enid answered gently, throwing a worried sideways glance at Tara, as she gently ran the back of her hand over Eric’s forehead. "Get some sleep, Eric."

He turned his head away from her touch, but closed his eyes, listening to the advice. Within minutes, he was asleep.  
Enid leaned back and Tara stepped behind her, placing a hand in her shoulder, 

"I'm worried." she said softly.

Her concern was met with silence from Rick and Tara as they watched their friend enter a fitful sleep.

“We should clean up. It’s the least we can do,” Enid offered. The three of the silently set off to work as they scrubbed the blood and sick from the floor along with the broken furniture and the eerie remains of the zip ties.  
********************************************  
Eric’s dreams were blurs of colour and confusion. He was running, racing through the road, blurs of black and green forming beside him as his feet hit the pavement beneath him. His lungs were burning as he sprinted towards his goal. He was gasping with every breath, pain shooting through his muscles. The moonlight was all around, raining from the sky from a ripe full moon that devoured the blackness that in her way.

Finally, he sprinted around the corner and stopped in his tracks. Aaron was kneeling on the ground, Negan standing above him.

Eric tried to run for Aaron, but his feet were trapped in place. He felt overwhelming fear as he could feel phantom hands running all over his body, helpless to stop any of it. Eric screamed as Negan raised Lucille and landed heavy blows on Aaron’s head. Hands feeling him up and holding him in place as they roamed his body. There was so much blood.

The hold on his legs finally gave way and he ran to Aaron. He was so close. Then the green and the silver and the red washed out of the scene before he could reach out to his lover’s body, and there was nothing but black.

And pain. Pain ripping through his head. He was burning. What had happened to him? He thrashed crazily in the suffocating darkness, trying to get to them, to see what-

There were heavy hands suddenly on his shoulders, holding his shaking shoulders.

“Eric, please wake up, sweetheart,” He heard a voice call, it sounded scared of what was going on. Eric recognized the voice after a second: Aaron.

Eric awoke from the dream with a cry, clutching at the side of the bed as he tried to shake the dream from his mind. He was breathing heavily as he stared around the room, cold sweat dripping down his face and back. His skin felt as though it were burning and kicked off the heavy blanket that had been draped over his body.

He felt sick, he couldn't remember what had happened to him. Eric's head seemed too heavy on his neck, and it lolled slightly to his shoulder as he turned to look at the the people occupying the room.

Something grabbed him out of the darkness, holding his hands. He tried to push away, but the other's hold was too strong.

"Eric, Eric," a deep, reassuring voice spoke gently. "It's all right, it's me...It’s Aaron."

Eric blinked hastily in the dark, staring at the calloused hands that were holding his and then looking up to see the worried face. Something clicked faintly in the back of his mind, and he could suddenly remember everything that had happened that day, and where the pain had come from.

"Aaron," he said faintly, a hint of tears in his tone as he moved forward, burying his face in the other's chest and wrapping his arms around the slim waist.

"Shh," Aaron answered gently as he sat down on the bed, moving his arms carefully around Eric.

His skin was overly hot against Aaron’s cheek; he could still feel the remainder of the sweat from the dream tracing tiny trails over the flesh. He pulled gently away from Eric.

Aaron moved Eric carefully back down to the pillow. His eyes shimmered in heat and confused and as he kept his hands tightly on Aaron’s shoulder. He looked around and noticed Tara, Enid and Rick. All of them looking at him with sadness in their eyes. He could tell Enid was crying.

"Eric, you've got a fever, you need to rest." Aaron spoke gently, in a soothing voice, running the back of his hand against the fiery surface of Eric’s cheek.

Eric relaxed unsurely against the cool sheets of his bed. His right hand curled weakly across his stomach; its partner had shifted from Aaron’s shoulder to clutch at his wrist, as though afraid to let Aaron go.

"I'm burning," Eric whispered weakly, tongue darting out to lick at his cracked lips.

Aaron sat smoothly down on the edge of the bed, massaging at Eric’s hand gripping hand with his free one.

"Do you want me to go get you some water?" Aaron asked gently, blue eyes fixating on his lover's face. His heart was being squeezed terribly in his chest. 

"Just stay, please." He answered, shutting his brown eyes again as he brought  
Eric’s hand to press against his cheek once more. "Stay with me, please," He repeated.

"I'll stay." Aaron answered softly in a choked voice, sitting down next to Eric.  
He moved closer to him, and Aaron could feel the heat radiating off his body, rolling off in tiny waves of blistering heat. Despite this, Eric was already relaxing, his breathing becoming lighter, muscles relaxing ever so slightly as he started to fall asleep. His hand was still tucked safely around Aaron, and the darker haired man adjusted their fingers so they were twined together before leaning forward and gently kissing Eric on the forehead.

"Aaron," he heard Rick whispered softly. His eyes roamed over to Eric for a moment, studying him wordlessly before returning his bespectacled gaze back to Aaron, “What can we do.”

Aaron looked sadly at his husband, “We have to fight. We can’t live like this...” he fell silent for a moment, “Is he going to be okay, Tara?”

"The fever kicked in, but he should be okay by tomorrow. Just make sure he drinks water... and hold him,” Tara said.

Aaron lightly squeezed his hand and mouthed a thank you. 

“Can I stay over?” Asked Enid quietly. 

Aaron smiled, “Of course.”

Rick spoke up, “We aren’t going anywhere. You know where to find us if you need anything."

Aaron nodded faintly as he saw Rick head out the door, squeezing Tara’s shoulder.

As he was stroking Eric’s sweat soaked hair, Tara walked up behind him and kissed his cheek, “He loves you so much, you know?”

Aaron looked down at Eric’s sleeping face as he listened to Tara’s words, “Yeah. I’ll always know.”

Tara smiled as she headed out of the room. 

Aaron sighed lightly, squeezing Eric’s hand gently from where he was holding it, before walking with Enid downstairs to start making dinner.  
********************************************  
In the middle of the night, Eric sat up coughing violently, and grabbed at Aaron’s shoulder with one shaking hand, despite the fact that the other was already awake.

"Aaron, Aaron," Eric was repeated in a muffled, and choking voice, due partially to the fact that one of his hands was covering his mouth.

Aaron sat up quickly, rubbing at Eric’s back with his hand.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked urgently, peering into Eric’s face, as he tried to get his husband to relax.

Eric didn't answer as he pulled away from Aaron, leaning over the side of the bed, and promptly vomited off the edge of his bed. Aaron rubbed his back as he lay there, coughed weakly and relaxed his tense muscles, defeated. His face was so pale it was tinged with grey; his hair was matted and stuck to his face with the sweat that covered his face. 

“Eric, are you okay?” Eric opened his eyes but didn't speak. He opened his mouth as if to speak but turned once more to vomit off the edge of his bed, “Christ, right, come on,” Aaron said, standing up. He ran over, and Eric felt strong arms around his waist. 

Once inside the bathroom, Aaron carefully let go of Eric who slid to the ground and pressed the back of his head against the cold tiles of the wall and closed his eyes once more.

“Eric? Can you hear me?” Aaron asked.

“Hmm?” Eric replied, opening his eyes slightly. Aaron tried not to flinch at how empty they looked. "I’m sorry, I woke you," Eric said in a croaky voice as he took a sip, color coming back to his cheeks gradually.

"Stop apologizing," Aaron answered sadly as he leaned forward to press his hand against Eric’s forehead. "Your fever's gone down a bit." he added in a softer tone after a few seconds.

There was no answer from Eric as he moved to lean his head gently against Aaron shoulder, shutting his eyes a bit, "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep anymore." Eric spoke in a soft voice.

Aaron just wrapped his arm carefully around Eric’s waist. There was unspoken conversation passing between the two of them about what had happened earlier that day as they sat on the bathroom floor pressed up against the wall. Aaron ran his free hand gently through Eric’s tangled locks. He turned his head slightly and kissed Eric softly on his temple. 

Soon he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. In a matter of minutes, Enid came through the door and saw the couple on the floor of the bathroom.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to make sure everyone was okay.”

Eric smiled sweetly at Enid, “You’re back from Hilltop,” he said hoarsely.

Enid smiled taking the glass of water from the nightstand and gave it to Aaron for Eric to drink. She sat next to Eric, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah. I got back yesterday. Rick was going to bring me back later today.”

“I’m glad I got to see you.”

Enid chuckled, only Eric could be so positive in a situation like this, “Me too. Learning from Maggie is neat and everything, but I missed you both... and Carl.”

Both men laughed as they listened to Enid. Though Eric was hurt and weak, sitting on the bathroom floor, they were a family. Enid helped Aaron get Eric back to bed. None of them slept the rest of the night as they just enjoyed each other’s company.


	7. Return From Oceanside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Eric have a talk about the incident and resolve their issues on fighting the Saviors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **mentions of sexual assault
> 
> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

It had been a week since Eric the incident. Aaron watched him can pears he had collected from the tree outside. His hands looked shakier than normal, and the dark circles under his eyes were more present than ever. 

“Has he been sleeping?” Enid asked, snapping Aaron out of his thoughts.

Aaron sighed and ran his hands over his face, “Not really. His injuries have healed, but his nightmares are worse He hasn’t been sleeping or eating.”

“You need to talk to him about it.”

Aaron exhaled shakily, “What if he blames me for what happened? What if he hates me?” The thought of Eric sobbing in his arms from shear terror nearly destroyed him.

Enid turned Aaron’s face so he could look at her, “This was not your fault, Aaron. You know what those monsters are capable of. You are not to blame here, and Eric knows it. I have never seen someone so much in love.” 

Aaron smiled, pulling Enid in for a hug, “I wish you could stay longer.”

“Me too,” Enid smiled.

Eric finished canning and went over to join his husband and friend on the couch, “Did I miss something?”

Aaron chuckled, wrapping his arm around Eric, “I was just telling Enid how I wish she could stay longer.”

Eric smiled, “I like the sound of that.” 

Aaron slid his arms around Eric, noticing his trembling frame—most likely from exhaustion and lack of food, “You hungry, babe? I might make some lunch for Enid.” 

“I’m fine, thanks though.” 

Aaron sighed, “Eric, you’ve barely eaten anything in the last week or slept. I’m worried.” 

The dark circles became more pronounced, “I’m fine,” he said shakily. Changing the subject, Eric turned to Enid, “How has Maggie been?”

“She’s been coping. Being a leader has helped take her mind off things. She is assembling a group to go to Oceanside to get their guns.”

Aaron straightened up, “Is she asking for volunteers?” 

“Yeah. That’s what her and Rick talked about. I know he wants some Alexandrians to go.”

“I want to help,” Eric said, taking Aaron’s hand. 

Aaron looked at Enid, “You just got off bed rest a week ago.”

“Look at me, I’m fine.”

“When’s the last time you slept?” Enid asked sadly.

“I’m. Fine.” He stated plainly, “It’s about time I did something for us anyways.”

“I don’t know, Eric. I know you can handle yourself out there, hell, you’re one of the best fighters I know, but are you sure now is a good time?”

“There’s never going to be a good time,” he took Aaron’s hands in his, “You'll need me,” Eric said firmly, "You'll need someone. You're not going to be alone."  


“I think I might go see what Rick needs from me, and then I’ll be on my way,” Enid stepped up and pulled them both into a hug, “I’m going to miss you both. Whatever you decide to do, just be careful.” 

“You too,” replied Aaron, “Take some pears for the road.” 

“Thanks guys,” she smiled, taking a jar and heading out the door. 

Eric ran his hands across his face. His exhaustion clearly taking a toll on him, “I might head upstairs and try and get some rest.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want any food?” Aaron asked, almost pleading. 

“I probably won’t be able to keep it down anyways, but thanks.” 

Aaron watched sadly as Eric made his way up the stairs, his shoulders hunched and his head down. Aaron felt his heart breaking at the sight of the love of his life in such pain, unable to shake the trauma and stress. 

He tidied up the kitchen, wanting to give Eric his space. After half an hour, he made his way back up the stairs and slowly opened the bedroom door. He could see Eric laying on his side, above the covers. His brow furrowed with worry as he saw that Eric’s eyes were open and staring off into space— he obviously didn’t get any rest. He had never seen him so despondent. 

Aaron gently moved to lay next to Eric and wrapped his arms around him, “Is this okay?” He asked softly. 

Eric turned in his arms and laid his head on Aaron’s shoulder, “Yeah. It’s always okay with you.” 

Aaron gently stroked Eric’s hair behind his ear, “What’s on that mind of yours?” 

Eric looked down and gripped the Aaron’s flannel to ground him from his thoughts. It was familiar...it was Aaron, he knew he could always open up to him and tell he how he felt, “I... I can still feel his hands on me. When I’m sleeping or in the shower or just doing nothing it’ll hit me. I feel his hands grabbing and roaming everywhere, and him...moving inside me... And the choking...” he whispered, “Sometimes I just can’t shake it, and I feel trapped. It feels so real sometimes. I’m sorry I haven’t been taking care of you or myself. I just get paralyzed doing the simplest things... When he was...touching me... My body... I couldn’t control it,” tears were wetting his shirt, “I know what it looked like, and I’m so sorry,” he couldn’t help but grip on tighter, burying his face in his lover’s chest, “I don’t know what to do. I don—“ 

He let himself be embraced tightly in Aaron’s arms, as was cut off by Aaron’s soothing voice, “Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me. You should never be sorry for what’s happened. Never,” he felt Eric shake in his arms, “I’m here... I’m here,” he felt nauseous that his lover had to relive that awful day over and over. He wanted so badly to take his place and take his pain away, “What can I do?” 

“You’re the only thing keeping me grounded. Thinking of you helps pull me out of the feelings. I just want you. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner.” 

“Shhh, don’t apologize. No matter what, you know I will always love you, right?” He held Eric’s hand and gently combed his fingers through his hair.

“Of course. Aaron, I love you so much... thank you for listening.” 

“Anytime. You know that. Just talk to me. I want to know how your feeling. I want to take your pain from you,” he held him tighter, “Anything else I can do?” 

“I think I need some food. Do we have any soup? I might be able to keep that down.” 

“Of course,” he kissed his head and wiped a tear from his sunken face, “maybe after this, we can try to wash some of those feelings away.” 

“Sounds perfect.”  
********************************************  
"You alright?"

Eric shifted the gun in his arms. It was a heavy gun, and he'd been lugging it around all day. It'd been a while since he'd held any gun like that, much less carry it for hours on end. They had just left Oceanside. His shoulders hurt, and so did the stretch between them. Eric tried squeezing his shoulder blades together, squirming uncomfortably to no avail. 

"Yeah." He mumbled.

They sat in the back of an old white van, with Gabriel at the wheel and Scott riding shotgun. Eric sat a foot or so away from Aaron, muscles still taut from the encounter. His jaw worked again and again, and Aaron watched the shadows dance across his face and his high, defined cheekbones.

He thought Eric was upset with him, from the way Eric's face had been strained looking all day, and the fact that his hand wasn't constantly searching for Aaron's. He'd hardly touched him that day.

It broke Aaron’s heart. Between everything that had happened to Eric and their argument last week, he could feel Eric retreating, and it was his fault. This indirect shunning made him realize how dependent he was on Eric's energy and support, as he felt drawn and emotionally exhausted today.

The ginger man took a sharp breath that would indicate pain and squirmed again, and finally Aaron unloaded his gun, set it down, and reached for Eric's. His fingers were wrapped so tight around it that his knuckles were white, and the brunet could see why his jaw muscles were contorting so dramatically.

"Hey," he mumbled softly. "I'll take this."  
Eric's fingers loosened on the gun, letting Aaron take it from him, unload it, and prop it next to his, "It's a heavy gun." He commented, and Eric nodded weakly. Aaron put a hand on Eric's shoulder and mumbled, "Come closer."

Eric did, scooting closed to Aaron's soft warmth.

"Turn so your back is facing me." Eric did so, and the brunet put his strong hands to the other man's shoulder muscles. He rubbed at the tense spots and dug his thumbs in where it needed, and kneaded where he knew Eric liked it.

"Better?"

"Yes. But please don't stop."

Aaron did as he was told, and kissed gently at the ginger man's neck every chance he got.

A sigh. "I'm not mad at you."

Aaron stopped rubbing. "What?"

“I'm not mad at you. I'm... I'm just angry at everything in general. I'm sorry. I haven't been a good partner lately."

"What? That's crazy. You've been fine... It's me that's been doing all the crazy shit." Aaron protested, kissing the juncture of his ear and neck softly.

"Yes, but... I haven't been supportive of your crazy shit."

"Sometimes you shouldn't."

Eric's muscles tensed. "But even if I shouldn't I should at least say something. We're partners in this, right? Yet I was too scared to say anything, and I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Aaron mumbled into his skin. After a pause, he decided to open the conversation up, “Eric?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you blame me for what happened?”

Eric could see the fear and guilt in Aaron’s eyes as he asked the question.

“Never. Why would you even think that?”

“Ever since the beginning, the saviors put targets on our backs, and you’ve taken the brunt of it. I-I just... how could you still love me after everything that’s happened to you because of me?”

Eric pulled Aaron into the tightest hug he could manage, “You have always been there for me, no matter what. Aaron, I will never, ever stop loving you, and I know how much you love me. Nothing will ever change how I feel about you. You’re the love of my life.”

Eric could feel his shoulder becoming damp, as Aaron sniffed, “You’re mine too.”

“Please don’t blame yourself.”

Aaron pulled away, “Thank you."

"For coming?"

“No, for the hug,” he chuckled sarcastically, “Yes, for coming.”

Eric wrapped his arms more steadily around his husband, "I'd follow you anywhere."

Little did they know their next fight would end in disaster.


	8. The Night Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Eric spend time together and make promises before their fight with the Saviors.

The sky was dark and there was silence within Aaron and Eric’s house - aside from the clattering of plates and splashing of water coming from their dimly lit kitchen. 

Aaron was washing up whilst Eric dried and put everything in their respective places in the cupboards.

The atmosphere was tense; the fight started tomorrow, and Eric could tell Aaron was nervous—not for himself but his partner— he was full of protectiveness. Although Eric found it endearing, he worried how Aaron would cope without him or how he would cope without Aaron.

“Is that it?”, Eric mumbled as he put the last dish away.

“Yeah. All done”, Aaron replied washing his hands before drying them with the towel. He looked up Eric. His lover's red hair shined under the light and Aaron studied his features - features he knew very well. He could see Eric was slightly tense. There was a pause before Eric let out a yawn.

“Better get to sleep”, Eric said looking at Aaron. Before Aaron could respond, Eric turned and made his way to the stairs. Aaron looked on as he did, slightly sad. They both had been up for the war, they both wanted freedom but when it was just the two of them, the reality set in and all Aaron wanted to do is hold his husband forever. Aaron turned off the light before he made his way up the stairs to their bedroom.

Aaron reached the top of the stairs, seeing that Eric was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, already in his pyjama pants and a t-shirt. The brunette was stopped in his tracks as he observed his lover.

Eric finished brushing his teeth, and wiped away the toothpaste from his mouth with a towel before he approached Aaron, placing his pale hands on each side of his lover's bearded face. He moved in and gently kissed Aaron who immediately returns the kiss, gently resting his rough hands on Eric’s slim hips but Eric pulled away as he opened his eyes to look up at Aaron.

“I’m going to bed, don’t take too long”, Eric said before he walked past Aaron.

After Aaron had changed into the pyjamas and a t-shirt and finished in the bathroom, he entered their bedroom. Eric was in their “bed”. He had turned off the main light in the room and put both of the of the bedside lights on.

Aaron climbed into their “bed” next to Eric. They both lay down properly on their sides facing each other, Eric shuffling closer to Aaron as he placed his hand on Eric’s hip as he rubbed, caressed circles around the bit of exposed skin, a gap in between his pants and t-shirt.

Eventually, Eric turned onto his other side, letting Aaron pull him close. Sleep was never going to happen, no matter how hard either of them tried. Both were fully aware of the dangers and the risks of fighting the Saviors, both knew it was necessary to take those risks. That didn’t make it any easier to think that this might be their last night together.

Eric relished the warm breath against his neck. Familiar. Comforting. Heart-wrenching. What would he do without Aaron should he lose his partner in tomorrow’s fight? Never again waking up to that sleepy smile. Never again getting lost in Aaron’s embrace. Never again hearing the sound of his voice, his laughter…

His thoughts turned around to consider what Aaron might do if he were the one to not make it home. Aaron’s biggest fault had always been placing too much blame on himself when things went wrong…would he blame himself if Eric died? The thought tore at Eric’s heart and he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.

“Promise me something.” His voice was soft, barely a whisper.

Aaron stirred gently behind him, possibly on the cusp between wakefulness and slumber, or simply pulled from his own thoughts. “Depends on what it is.”

“Promise me that, if something happens to me tomorrow–”

“Eric, don’t.” Aaron abruptly cut him off, not even wanting to consider the grim possibilities.

“If something happens,” Eric pushed on, turning over to face the other man. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for anything. I don’t want you to mourn or grieve.”

“Please, I don’t want to hear this,” Aaron’s voice was thick with emotion as he pushed himself up, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I need you to hear it,” Eric insisted, pushing himself up on an elbow and reaching out to place his other hand on Aaron’s back. “Babe…please… this is important to me.”

When Aaron didn’t respond or make a move to leave, Eric knew he was going to listen. Eric shifted so that he was sitting up behind Aaron, arms wrapping around his partner’s chest and chin resting on his shoulder.

“This life, this journey we’ve been on together has been extraordinary, and I wouldn’t change a single moment of it.” He paused for a moment of levity. “Well, except the fact that one or both of us could be killed tomorrow, but that’s kind of out of my control.” Despite himself, Aaron gave a soft laugh, one hand coming up to clutch Eric’s wrist tightly as he was held from behind, “No matter what happens tomorrow,” Eric continued, a slight waver of emotion in his voice. “This isn’t the end for us. I know we’ll meet again in another life, but if something happens to me…” he took a breath, “if I die… I want you to keep living your life. I want you to be happy.”

Something wet dripped onto Eric’s arm, and about the time that Aaron sniffled, Eric realized it was a teardrop. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” Aaron told him with conviction.

Eric shook his head. “That’s not the promise I want you to make…because that’s not a promise you can keep. No matter how hard we try, anything could happen. Just promise me you’ll be okay.”

Aaron shifted so that he could look at Eric, cupping his face and drawing him into a fierce kiss. “I’ll promise if you promise the same.”

Eric searched the man’s eyes, again considering how he would move on without Aaron. It felt like trying to breath with an elephant sitting on his chest. A single tear trailed down his cheek, and Aaron gently brushed it away with his thumb.

“Not that easy, is it?” He asked gently, hoping Eric would see the impossibility of trying to make such a promise.

Lifting his hand to rest on the back of Aaron’s neck, Eric pulled the man’s forehead against his own. “Let’s both promise to try.”

That seemed easier somehow in Aaron’s mind and he pulled back enough to press his lips to the center of Eric’s forehead. “I promise I’ll try…but nothing’s going to happen to you.”


	9. The Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric gets shot fighting the Saviors at the Sanctuary. (Basically a Fix-It chapter because Aaron and Eric deserves better).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Eric never felt the bullet go through him. The adrenaline coursing through his veins prevented him from feeling any pain as the round entered his gut, shredding through his intestines before making an exit near his kidney. His sole concern had been to take out as many Saviors as possible, and as he saw the bodies drop in response to his rapid fire, he knew the risk had been worth it. He fell back, shielding himself behind the sheet metal armor bolted to the side of the pickup truck so that he could take a breath and dodge any return fire.

It was then that the twinge of pain became noticeable. A burning sensation through his abdomen that seemed to sear a hole from belly to back. Before he could register the pain as a gunshot wound, Aaron was at his side, gripping onto him as if the physical connection was the only thing keeping them both alive. The sight of his lover, the sheer proximity of him, and the worry so evident in his voice made Eric smile despite the growing pain in his belly, “You okay? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he managed, wanting to make light of the fact that Aaron was worried about him again, but knowing now was not the time. There were Saviors still standing, bullets still flying; their friends were still dying. They weren’t in the clear yet. He sobered himself up, pushing past the pain, and trying to allay Aaron’s concern in order to keep his lover in the fight. “But our people, they need…”

The adrenaline swiftly died off, and with it came a level of agony that stopped him dead in his tracks. The shock of its intensity cut off the rest of his words, and he stared at Aaron, panting breathlessly as realization finally dawned on him. Eric knew that Aaron could see the look of anguish on his face, his lover seeming to read his mind. Eric tried to cover the blood that was now soaking through his shirt, not wanting Aaron to be distracted by this, but it was too late. Aaron saw the blood. It was the look Aaron gave him. It was filled with fear, and he was shaking as he looking at the blood, begging ‘no's’ to into the air. He pressed his hand over Eric’s, trying to apply pressure to the wound, but only managing to squelch the blood out over their hands and send another nauseating wave of pain through Eric’s body. Had it not been for Aaron’s hold on him, Eric would have hit the ground as his knees started to buckle.

As Aaron led him away from the fight, each step fanned the flame of fire burning through him, making him want to scream and beg Aaron to stop making him move. He forced his lips in on themselves to keep himself quiet, knowing if he let on how much it hurt, Aaron would withdraw himself from the fight and their side couldn’t afford to lose both of them. In his mind, Eric worked through the placement of organs in his body, trying to ascertain what the bullet may have struck, and how much time he had before death was a certainty.

“How bad is it?” He asked weakly, doubtful the news would be promising.

“There’s an exit wound; that’s good,” Aaron had tried to give him a look of hope, but the crease in his lover’s brow betrayed him. The bark was rough against his back, but Aaron’s hands were so gentle as they wrapped his jacket sleeves around his waist and helped to lower him down to the ground.

As he sat against the tree, he thought these would be the last moments he had left with Aaron. As much as he wanted to tell Aaron goodbye, tell him how happy he’d been in life with him, Eric knew that his acceptance of death meant that Aaron wouldn’t leave him to go back to the fight. He’d sit there and watch Eric die. Eric refused to allow that. He refused to be that selfish, no matter how much he didn’t want to face this alone. Eric knew all too well what Aaron needed. Aaron didn't need to sit and watch as his face paled and hands shook. Aaron didn't need to watch him fall in and out of consciousness. He needed to fight. The quicker this ended, the better his odds were. 

All he could fill his thoughts with was their time together. All the little moments they've had, before and after the world went to shit. So much of his life had been Aaron because at some point Aaron became his world. Breathing heavily, He felt the sharp pain in his abdomen and the cold sweat all over his body. But he knew he had to be strong. If not for himself, then for Aaron. He looked up at his lover, hovering protectively above him. When he spoke, Eric could hear the guilt in his voice.

“I pulled you into this. You didn’t want to fight.” Aaron said.

“Until, until I… did,” he said with severe difficulty, trying to ease Aaron’s conscience. He felt the blood oozing from his wound.

“You need to help them–” he said.

“What? I can't–” Aaron replied almost immediately.

“You need to go.” Eric insisted. “I can bleed here fine on my own.”

“I'm not leaving you.” Aaron said, resolutely. 

“Don't be an idiot.” Eric smiled, thinking about how stubbornAaron could be, “They need you.”  
  
Aaron couldn’t hold it anymore. He broke down in front of Eric, letting the stream of warm tears fall down his face. He couldn’t let him go. Not now, not like this.

“Aaron, look at me,” he heard his lover say. “Look at me.”

When he felt Eric’s hand on his check, it struck him how cold it already was. Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked into Eric’s brown eyes.

“You know I love you,” Eric said softly, looking deeply into Aaron’s eyes. “You know I’m right,” he added firmly.

Aaron wept, trying to get hold of himself. He nodded slightly and leaned in so their foreheads touched. What if this was it for them? Thoughts of never seeing Eric again, never seeing his warm smile, hearing his jokes and words of comfort. He didn’t want to leave Eric here alone, but deep down he knew Eric was right. He needed to go and help the others. And sooner this’ll be over the sooner they can get Eric to the doctor. 

He leaned in and kissed Eric, long and soft, making his tears mix with Eric’s. When he reluctantly pulled away, he let his forehead rest against Eric’s. A new vail of tears covered his cheeks as he tried not to lose control completely.

“Okay,” Eric said, reassuringly, still holding Aaron as close as possible. “Now… stand your ass up, get back to the fight, and you win this thing.”

Aaron let Eric’s words wash over him, drawing strength from them. After a while he nodded.

“I will.”

“Okay.”

Aaron pulled back just a little so he could look into Eric’s eyes. Acquiring newfound optimism, “We will.”

He looked deep into Eric’s eyes and felt a warm smile appearing on his face.

“I love you,” he said, as if he was saying it for the first time.

“I always had a hunch,” Eric said, a huge smile appearing on his face, as he tried to stop the unwilling tears.

Aaron smiled back, remembering the moment from their past. He knew there was nothing more he could do for him now.

He took the rifle and handed it to his husband in case he needed to defend himself. Then he cupped Eric’s cheek and looked at him one last time. He knew that they said everything that needed to be said. But he still felt like there was something more. If only words could describe how much he loved him.  
Eric leaned against the tree and through ragged breath he firmly said: “Now go.”  
Aaron hesitated for a moment but then nodded. He looked into Eric’s eyes one last time and stood up, glancing at his lover few times before he made his way back to the fight.

Eric rested his head against the tree, breathing heavily. He was getting weaker, he felt that. His chest is steadily tightening; air is harder and harder to take in. Even still, Eric focuses on keeping his breathing even. Memories ran through his head vacations, I love you’s, movie night jokes, vows. He wasn’t able to get a grip on the rifle anymore. He let it slide next to him on the ground and closed his eyes again. Apart from coldness and numbness he also felt sad. He didn’t want to leave Aaron. He had to fight.  
********************************************  
His feet pounded against the ground hard, his breath heaving as he ran. He hadn’t been gone long, he hadn’t - 

He found the tree, blood smeared against the bark, and nothing. He screamed louder. “Eric!” Aaron searched around frantically. He couldn’t have gotten far, he was too injured. Unless he was just too injured. Aaron felt anxiety settle to the bottom of his stomach. “ERIC!”

He looked off in the distance, a herd of walkers moving confused, unsure of which direction to head towards when noise was all around them. He caught a flash of plaid, a dim color against the green and hay colored field. Something broke, Aaron’s body feeling numb as he sank to the ground, his knees hitting hard enough to bruise, and sob erupting from his throat. 

“Aaron?” It was quiet; either the voice was far away or weak. “Aaron.” Not a question, a statement. Aaron stood up quickly, looking around desperately for his voice. 

“Eric!”

“Over - over here.” Aaron spotted a thicket, not far from the field, and he could just see a splash of chestnut hair coming over the shrubbery. Relief flushed over his body as Aaron sprinted over to the underbrush, pushing through until he found Eric, breathing heavily as he pressed his shirt to the wound in his abdomen. 

“Oh,” Aaron sniffed, his face red, “Why did you move?”

Eric tilted his head towards the herd. “They were getting too close. Didn’t want to risk anything.”

“Oh god, I thought - “ 

“I know - “ Eric interrupted him, breaking  
through the haze in Aaron’s mind, “I know. But I’m not. And you’re here now.” Aaron exhaled, a whimper slipping past his lips. He closes his eyes, leaning forward to hold onto Eric’s shoulders. A hand finds it’s way to rest against his cheek. “Babe, look at me.”

“Eric... Oh Eric.” Aaron hiccuped as he went to hold his lover. Eric was too weak to hug Aaron back for he lost a lot of blood, and he was just drained of energy. But he had the energy to speak. 

“My heart’s still beating.” Eric spoke weakly as his lips were straining into a smile. 

“I know I know....” Aaron whispered. It was oh so clear that Eric had been crying earlier. 

"I was... I was so scared Aaron." Eric breathed out. 

"Me too, but all that matters is that you're alive and you're going to be okay." Aaron whispered, planting soft kisses to his hair. 

“We gotta go,” Eric says, and Aaron nods. Bending over, he picked Eric up bridal style.

“You, my dear Eric, are a twig," Aaron teased as he managed to carry Eric with ease, hoping his jokes would ease his anxieties. Eric hummed and rested his head on Aaron's shoulder, feeling drained of energy. Though the blood loss had slowed, he still needed immediate medical attention to his wound. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach the cars, and they both felt so much better seeing their escape. Aaron had Eric lean against the car side as he opens the passenger door and then helped him in. Aaron was about to get into the car when Rick walked towards them holding a baby.

"Was she in there?" Daryl asked, directing towards the building they came from. 

Rick nodded, “Yes she was.”

Eric knocked lightly on the window to get Aaron's attention. When he had it, he nods towards the baby giving Aaron a look.

“We can take her," Aaron offers to Rick.

"You sure?"

"I have to get Eric to Hilltop, he needs help. She'll be safe there. We can take her with us."

Rick nods and hands her to Aaron, "Her name’s Gracie." Aaron smiled down at her.

When Aaron opens the passenger door, Eric smiled at him. "You look cute with her."

"You think you can hold her during the trip?" Concern leaks from Aaron's voice.

"Of course," Aaron gently handed her over, and a feeling rushed through him as he watched Eric smiling down and lightly talking to the young girl.

"Hey Gracie." Eric said coolly as he cooed at the baby with a small smile on his lips. Aaron was driving the car and he briefly looked back at the two to see how they were doing.

The car ride felt like it took too long. There were too many times that Eric looked too pale when Aaron turned to look at him. No matter how sweet Eric looked smiling down at the baby, Aaron was still worried that it'd take too long, that he'd lose Eric. Gracie had her tiny hand wrapped around Eric's pinky finger. He feared Eric was just going to drop dead from blood loss. 

“You would make a great dad." Aaron said softly, trying to keep Eric conscious. He gently rocked Gracie to sleep so it was quiet once again in the car. Words were exchanged, but they were just brief and plain. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached the Hilltop. Aaron unbuckled his seatbelt and he got out of the car, hurrying to get Eric and Gracie out.

He lifted Eric, who had gone limp from the car when Maggie and Enid came out. 

"What happened?" Asked Maggie. 

Not wanting to waste time, Aaron didn’t explain, "Can you take care of him?" Aaron pleaded. 

Maggie nodded.

It happened so quickly. Eric was being rushed to the doctors trailer as Aaron stood with Gracie in his arms staring as Maggie tried to ask what happened. He was crying, he knew that. It was relief, worry, the small hope being held in his arms, and all the emotions that ran through him in such a short time. He was crying and he felt that Eric would be okay, that he was safe now.

"They shot him," Aaron stated.

"He'll be okay, they'll take care of him," Enid tells him.

"Aaron?" He turned to Maggie, "Why are you holding a baby?"

"Her name's Gracie. Rick found her in the building they were searching. We took her here so that she'd be somewhere safe."

He felt Enid’s arms wrap around his back as he stood processing what had happened.  
********************************************  
It's been an hour since Aaron has seen Eric. He was pacing back and forth, waiting for news. His feet shuffled against the ground as he held Gracie in his arms, Rocking her softly. At last, the door to the infirmary opened, and Aaron hurried over. 

"He's going to be just fine. It's a miracle that he survived." Maggie proclaimed.

"Thank you." Aaron was thanking Maggie over and over. 

"Go on." Maggie urged Aaron into the room before closing the door. 

He went over to the bed that Eric was resting on. Eric's hand wasn't as cold. His face wasn't as pale. His breathing was even. Aaron was so relieved as his hand was intertwined with Eric's and he was smiling up at him with tired eyes. 

"Hey..." Eric said in a weak voice. 

"Hey yourself." Aaron chuckled, sitting beside Eric. 

"How's Gracie?" Eric asked. 

"She's fine, she's been asleep the whole time." Aaron informed him as he leaned over to plant a sweet and tender kiss on Eric's forehead. 

“Can I hold her?”

“Sure,” Aaron carefully laid Gracie in Eric’s arms, and wrapped his arm around Eric.

"You're going to be okay." He whispered softly, love in his voice. Eric snuggled into Aaron for comfort and warmth.

"We're okay," Eric responded in the same way, pausing for a moment, "Part of me thought that I wouldn't-"

"Not now," Aaron shook his head, "Please, just not now."

"Okay," Eric leaned up and kissed Aaron. They were silent for a few moments. "I'm starting to think you save me too much."

"You save me just as much as I save you, even if you don't see it sometimes."

Eric's face lit up as he looked down at Gracie in his arms, a loving smile fell over Aaron's features. He put one hand on Eric's thigh and the other lightly on Gracie's legs as they both looked down at her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Maggie left the trailer unnoticed, met by Enid on the outside. "How are they?"  
Maggie holds a kind smile as she looks back to the trailer and then Enid, "They look like a family."  
********************************************  
The night is cool upon the town. Silhouettes—struggling to stay fully awake—march back and forth along the tops of wooden walls. Stars twinkled in abundance, so much clearer now that cities had been forced to retire. Everything was quiet beyond the slight shuffle of hooves along hay grounds in the stable.  
  
A peaceful air had fallen on the small trailer holding three. Eric rest his head heavy on Aaron’s shoulder, finally able to sleep after the seemingly endless period of waiting for painkillers to kick in. Fireflies floated beside the couple’s window in a sweet nightly dance. All was calm.  
  
Or, all was calm until a shrill screech broke through the still once again. Aaron was already sitting up, worrying when he felt Eric move too. “Shh,” he calms, resting his hand on top of copper hair. “It’s just Gracie. Keep sleeping. I’ve got it.”  
  
Eric mumbled something undiscernible and burrowed further into their blankets. Aaron smiled, glad they had a real bed for Eric to sleep on while he finished recovering.  
  
It couldn’t have been comfortable, Aaron thought, to take any sort of hit from a bullet. Eric never let the extent of his pain show, though. Even while bleeding out against that tree, rocking in the bumpy car ride to Hilltop, holding a baby to his still-healing abdomen, e just grit his teeth, took a breath, and smiled. He always had.  
  
Aaron was shaking by the time he picked his crying daughter up and held her to his chest. So close, his mind repeats, the same way it had when he first saw red, too much red against green fabric. So close to losing him.  
  
“Everything’s okay,” he mumbled. He bounces Gracie as her formula warms in the microwave. “You’re okay. Papa and I are okay. Everything’s okay.”  
  
They hadn’t talked about becoming parents before everything fell apart, but Aaron knew Eric always wanted a baby, and frankly so did he. The idea of a child to raise, to bring to their first day of kindergarten, to shelter in love and the sure knowledge they have both of their dads wrapped around their tiny finger was always enough to make Aaron’s heart warm. “We’d have to settle down a little, though. Stop traveling so much. Get married. We'll have to wait a while.”  
  
Aaron knew Eric was right, but the world was different now. Everyone was fighting, moving back and forth between battle and home.  
  
Gracie calmed down to sniffling, and Aaron placed the bottle gently in her mouth. She gulped down the food as fast as her tiny body allowed. Aaron exhaled and let himself relax for the time being. His best friend has a target on her head. His husband is sleeping off a gunshot wound through the abdomen. Everything is so close to collapsing, but they’re alive. They’re all alive.  
  
Aaron burped the baby, grateful when she kept everything down. Though he was done feeding her, he couldn’t help but hold her for a few extra moment, kissing her soft hair and breathing her in. The thought of raising a baby with Eric made him smile and tear up. He then went to set her down in her crib, “Good night. Please stay asleep.”  
  
One day, she’ll be old enough to shake them awake when her dreams of the monsters outside get too scary. She’ll shove her way between them and sleep peacefully because she knows no harm can reach her there. Or else, she’ll wake them and Eric will carry her back to her own bed, sing her lullabies his mother sang to him when he was young until she drifts back to sleep.  
  
One day, she’ll learn the full danger of what’s beyond the wall. But it will be okay because she’ll have them and the war will be over.  
  
One day, she’ll be old enough to move in by herself—or with someone else—and they’ll cry over how old their baby’s gotten, but they’ll be so proud of what a wonderful woman she became.  
  
One day. For now, though, Gracie slept in her crib, tightly bundled in a colorful blanket an older Hilltop woman knit as a welcome gift. Aaron laid back down in bed and Eric squinted up at him.  
  
“How is she?”  
  
Aaron smiles, softly kissed Eric’s forehead, “Perfect.”


	10. Baby Gracie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Eric experience their first time being fathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Aaron’s smile was soft and filled with love as he looked at the scene in front of him. Eric was sitting in the chair in their living room, lightly rocking Gracie in his arms. She was looking up at him with bright eyes as he smiled down at her. He looked up at Aaron, and his smile seemed to brighten.

He got up from where he was sitting and moved over to sit next to Aaron, leaning into him. It had been a few days since Eric got shot, and he was recovering nicely despite the trauma his body had gone through over the years. 

“Did you ever want kids? You know, before all this?”

Eric smiled, “Definitely, but I never thought we would have a child," Eric tells him, looking in Aaron's eyes. "The way people thought about our relationship, it would've been so much torture and a huge what if to even trying to get a kid. Then the world became this and it just became a huge no,” he paused for a minute, “Did you ever want kids?”

“More than anything. I realize that now. I always thought because I didn’t really have parents, I wouldn’t be good at it, but then I met you and that all changed.”

Their smiles faltered slightly, thinking about missed opportunities. Eric's gaze moved down to Gracie. His hands carding through her small tufts of hair.

Aaron places his hand over Eric’s, "We have a daughter now, and no one can take that away from us,” he gently squeezes his hand, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Eric smiled, letting their laced hands stay at their side. With his other hand, Aaron lightly hold’s one of Gracie's small hands. Her tiny fingers wrap around Aaron’s pointer finger. Everything was perfect.


	11. The Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a one year time jump, Aaron and Eric spend time with Gracie at the “beach” in Alexandria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

*One Year Time Jump*  
It had been a year since the fight with the Saviors. One year since Eric was shot, and they became parents. In that year, the Saviors still had control over the communities, but there was a stalemate as no one picked fights or dared to leave their respective sanctuaries. Gracie was now one and a half, and Eric and Aaron couldn’t be happier despite the looming threat of Negan and the Saviors. 

The door was slightly ajar, so Aaron just pushed it open. Sometimes Eric did this to get a draft through their house, which had been scorching since they'd opted to stop using air conditioning to conserve power.  
His husband was in the kitchen, Gracie sitting on the counter next to the sink. 

There was a plastic bib around her neck, and her little legs dangled off the granite. Eric had a gentle, protective hand on her as he spooned what looked like oatmeal into her mouth. She must have done something funny, because Eric broke out in a quiet laughter at her while filling another spoonful.

"Hey," Aaron said, announcing himself.

Eric's head whipped up, "Hey, babe." 

“Daddy!” Gracie exclaimed from the counter.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said sweetly as he kissed her cheek.

“I think she might be catching something. She felt a little warm to me and she kept sniffling. I wanted to feed her something warm.” 

Aaron nodded, slinging an arm around his partner's slim waist. Gracie saw his face and giggled, her chubby little face lighting up. The brunet gave out a small huff of a content laugh. 

Eric spooned another lump of oatmeal into Gracie’s mouth, to which the toddler shrieked lightly and smacked the spoon out of her Papa’s hand.

"Well," he laughed, “Guess that means you're full, then?" Eric turned to Aaron. 

“Papa! I love you!”

Eric beamed, “I love you too!”

Gracie giggled as Eric blew a raspberry to her neck and carried he into the living room. 

Eric finished carrying Gracie to her play-thing successfully. She grabbed at the bright colored hunk of plastic, and they both sat down on the couch to watch her play.

Gracie spun one of the controls and shrieked with joy, a smile lighting her face again. Aaron felt pure happiness tugging at the corners of his mouth, eyes soft with affection as she abandoned the gadget and picked up her favorite bunny that Eric had found. It reminded him of the bunny that he had as a child.

He leaned next to his curly-haired partner, taking his rough hand in his own soft, slender one gently.

"Let's go for a walk,” he suggested, “It’s warm outside and she can play by the pond.”

Gracie clumsily walked between Eric and Aaron, both holding one of her hands as they walked to the sandy part of the pond. 

Tara smiled at the couple from across the street, waving a little and the couple waved back.

Gracie laughed and giggled as she saw where they were headed. When they were close enough, they both let go of her hand and watched her toddle over to the beach. 

Eric sits on his towel while he watches Aaron take Gracie by the hand and step into the water. 

He laughs as he sees Gracie splash Aaron with the water. He pretends and plays along, swinging her up into his arms. 

“Papa! Papa save me!” She giggles.  
  
“I’m not here!” Eric calls back.  
  
“You’re fine, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” Aaron smiles, holding her close to his chest. Something in the water catches Aaron’s eye. “Look, look.”

He lets Gracie down as she looks into the water where all around her legs, tadpoles were swimming around. She gasped as she followed to where her daddy was pointing. A small turtle was poking his head out of the reeds. She watches in amazement as it glided past them into the depths of the pond. 

There’s a moment of silence, both staring where the animal once was, before Gracie pounces into her usual young excitement. She had always loved animals. Aaron just wished he could show her more.  
  
“Daddy it’s flying!.”

Aaron laughed, “That was a turtle, Gracie.” Aaron said, glancing back to the beach. Eric was smiling brightly back at them, “Let’s head back.”

Gracie throws her arms around Aaron’s neck and tucks her head on his shoulder.  
  
“Alright, then. I’ll carry you.  
  
Eric met them at the water’s edge, “Did you guys have fun?”  
  
“Yes!” Gracie cheers. Aaron sets her down and moves to stand next to Eric. “We saw a-a—“ she was having trouble thinking of the word.

“We saw a turtle, didn’t we, Gracie?”

“Yeah!” Gracie gasps as she’s hit with a new idea, “Sand castle! Sand castle!” She cheers.

“Good idea. We should all work on it.” Aaron couldn’t resist a small jab, “If you’re done hiding from the sun, that it.”  
  
Eric narrowed his eyes, “If I end up sunburnt, I’m blaming you.” He turned to Gracie, who’s already shoveling sand into an old bucket, “But a sand castle sounds wonderful.”  
  
The three sit in a tight triangle around rough mounds of sand. It’s hard to achieve anything that truly looks like a castle—the nice plastic molds from Before broke long ago. Even so, Gracie beams at the creation when she stabs a tiny stick flag on top.

“It’s for Bunny!”

“Okay then.” Aaron laughs at his daughter’s over-eager attitude. “Do you have any knights?”  
  
She thinks for a moment, then confidently answers, “Turtle!”  
  
“He’s your knight?”  
  
“He can fly.”  
  
Eric laughed and wrapped his arm around Aaron’s waist. “Did you hear that? He can fly.”

Aaron leaned into the touch, “He really can. You should have seen him.”  
  
“Really sounds like I should have,” Aaron pressed a kiss to Eric’s sandy cheek, “Watching you two have fun was more interesting,” Eric tilted his head and pushes their lips chastely to each other.

By the time they were done playing at the pond, the sun began to set. They made their way home where Aaron made spaghetti, both men in hysterics as Gracie ate it as messily as possible. Those would their usual nights when they both weren’t on guard duty. 

Eric carried Gracie back to her bed as she began to feel tired during dinner. Aaron found them a few minutes later cuddling in the small bundle of blankets, Gracie fast asleep in her Papa’s arms. Eric softly kissed her hair and slowly got up, tucking her in. 

During the night, nightmares still plagued their minds— memories of the dead eating friends, bullets ripping through them, guns and the tree, each other screaming. Even though the nightmares came, Aaron would hold his husband close, and vice versa, both thinking of their daughter in the next room over. How lucky they were to be alive. How lucky they were to be safe. How lucky.


	12. Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric is taken by the Saviors who are in need of a new doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

The night air was cold on Aaron's face as he walked back to his home in the dark. He'd purposefully taken a heavy night shift because he wanted to give others the chance to sleep, however, Rosita had shown up a few hours into his shift offered to take his place. At first he'd resisted, but had given in after her persistence and the exhaustion that was weighing him down.

He turned the handle to the front door, and it gave way easily. Walking into the house, he shed his weapons belt and hung up his jacket, stretching his arms and yawning. He started up the stairs groggily, and pushed open the door to his and Eric's room.

Inside was a his husband was wrapped up in blankets, Gracie cuddled to his chest. His heart beamed. He walked over to the bed and curled himself against Eric. He gently kissed Gracie’s soft hair and ran his hand over her head. He then moved on to Eric, kissing his neck softly.

Eric stirred sleepily, turning to Aaron.  
"Huh...? I din't think you... Be back 'till morn... ing,” he shifted Gracie in his arms. 

"Rosita took my shift." Aaron grabbed the blanket Eric was snuggled under it with him. He wrapped his arms around his partner, and felt a soft, flannel material. Aaron pushed the blankets off of them a little.

"Is that my shirt?" He inquired, fingering the material.

Eric yawned. "Uhm... Uh, yeah," He said a little sheepishly. "It's just, you were gone a lot today, and I miss you... Your flannels are soft... Warm... They smell like you..."

Aaron smiled sweetly, “How is she?”

“She missed you, like I did.”

He held them both closer, “Are you still on guard duty for the morning?”

Eric rubbed at his eyes. "Yep." He said, meeting Aaron's lips with his for a small kiss.

“Well then, we should probably get some sleep.”

“Already ahead of you,” he yawned. Both men fell asleep with no problems. 

That didn’t last long when Eric felt Gracie whimper and cling tightly to his chest. His eyes flickered open as he woke up from the noise. Aaron was fast asleep beside him, and his arm was outstretched over him and Gracie protectively. He heard another cry coming from his daughter as she twitched in her sleep. He ran his hand across her small back and kissed her hair, “Gracie, honey? Can you wake up?” He whispered against her head. 

Gracie woke with a start and reached out for her dad. She was breathing heavily against his chest and crying softly. Not wanting to wake Aaron, he gently picked her up and went downstairs where her cries grew stronger. He sat on the couch with her in his arms and lightly bounced her. 

“Shhh, honey, I’m here. Your safe. Nothing’s gonna hurt you,” her cries subsided to hiccups and shaky breaths as she listened to Eric’s heartbeat, “Bad dream?” He asked. 

“The monsters,” she gasped. 

Aaron and Eric had tried so hard to keep Gracie away from the gates, but that didn’t stop her from hearing the walkers or seeing what they could do. They knew they had to slowly talk to her about them so that she wouldn’t be in danger or be more scared later. Despite this, Gracie still had nightmares, and sometimes they even caught her drawing a picture of one. 

“Daddy and I won’t ever let the monsters get to you, okay? We love you so much, and we promise you will be safe as long as you’re with us.” 

Gracie sniffled and nodded until she fell back to sleep in Eric’s arms. He picked her back up and tucked her into her own bed where she might be more comfortable. After kissing her softly, he headed back up to the comfort of his own bed and husband. 

Eric took a deep breath and pressed his cheek against Aaron’s back. It was a good back; strong and solid. The slight chill in the weather had led to Aaron wearing one of the worn-out T-shirts that was soft from too many washings. It felt good against his skin, warm and soft and it smelled good, like Aaron, so Eric took another deep breath before slowly uncurling his hand from the fabric over Aaron’s ribs, and moving to sit up. 

He had barely moved away from his husband when Aaron’s whole body jerked and Eric could hear his sharp intake of air as he gasped. He jolted upright, reaching toward Eric’s side of the bed, and only abandoning the movement when he saw that Eric was watching him with concern. 

He wrapped his arms tightly around his lover and let his head fall into the crook of his neck, “Still here, are you okay?”

Aaron nodded slowly into Eric’s shoulder and grasped his hand, “Nightmare, but it’ll pass.” He shook his head, glancing around the room for a moment, “Why are you up?”

He gently stroked through Aaron’s hair. His heart hurt knowing his family was in pain, “Gracie had a nightmare too. I tucked her in so she wouldn’t wake you. I was going to get a glass of water before getting comfortable again. Want one?” Eric had moved to the side of the bed, ready to get up, but he stopped for Aaron’s answer.

“Sure, but I think I’ll come downstairs with you, I want to get that dream out of my head.”  
********************************************  
Eric was up at 6:00 that mornings preparing to take a shift at the gate’s guard towers. 

Gracie had gotten up with him and helped him make breakfast. Before he left, he made sure to give Aaron a goodbye peck on the cheek, but he was fast asleep. Eric couldn’t help but smile at his exhausted partner. 

Then, he took a sleepy Gracie back up to her room, and tucked her in. 

“I know last night was scary, but try to get some sleep, okay?” Eric said, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Okay, Papa,” She whispered as she leaned into his warm hand on her cheek. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” she hummed.

He kissed her forehead and made his way back down the stairs. He threw on his jacket and grabbed his weapons. 

The beginning of his shift was pretty uneventful. He only had taken out four walkers with four silenced gun shots. His highlight was when Aaron visited him at noon and brought him lunch. 

It was an hour later when cars began to roll up to the gates at an alarming speed. He could tell from a distance who the cars belonged to, and it made his heart stop. He ducked and fired several warning shots, letting the Saviors know they weren’t welcome. As expected, they fired back. Bullets aimed for him ricocheted off the walls as he ducked down. 

Soon the cars arrived and forced open the gates. Of course today was the day Rick took their best fighters to the Hilltop to help train a militia. The only fighters were him, Aaron and Michonne who was taking care of Judith. He though of his own daughter and all of the innocent people in Alexandria who were starting to gather in the streets. He couldn’t risk a fight. 

Michonne, Carl and Aaron made their way through the crowd to where the Saviors were getting out of the cars. Eric joined them as he climbed down from the lookout. He instinctively looked for Aaron as Negan and the Saviors who attacked him stepped through the crowd. 

Negan threw Lucille over his shoulder and had his men drop their guns, “There doesn’t need to be any bloodshed here today. You folks haven’t been upholding your end of our “bargain” since you decided to shoot up my place. But it’s been a year, and I am in need of only one thing.”

“And what’s that?” Michonne asked darkly, her hand behind her reaching for her katana. 

Negan smiled and chuckled, putting his hand on Eric’s shoulder and leaning in. Eric closer his eyes and tried to control his breathing. Aaron stepped forward but the group of Saviors pulled him back away from Eric.

“I want your nurse. See at the sanctuary, I am short a doctor, and if I recall from our conversation on the road, Eric here was a nurse!”

“No! No, please!” Aaron was fighting in the Saviors’ grasp. 

Eric shuddered, looking sadly at his husband struggling. If he didn’t go, Negan would kill Aaron, Gracie, and everyone else he cared about. He had to go.

“Okay,” he agreed shakily, his eyes watering.

“See! Look how easy that was!“

Aaron was sobbing at this point, “Michonne, do something! Anyone! Please!”

The Alexandrians stayed where they were. They were devastated, but they had no choice. 

“Can I say goodbye to my daughter?” Eric asked, trying to remain steady. 

“Since you made this so quick and efficient, why not?”

Eric nodded, “Michonne, can you get Gracie?”

Michonne sadly nodded, sprinting to the house.

Eric turned to Aaron who was on his knees, still weakly fighting. He carefully made his way over to him, Negan watching his every step. Once he was at an arms length away, he pulled Aaron into a fierce hug, his husband sobbing into his shoulder as they both held each other on the ground. 

“It’ll be okay. I promise.”

“No! I c-can’t lose you.”

“I’m still here, Aaron. I’ll be alright. You just have to wait, okay?”

Aaron just cried more.

“I love you, Aaron.”

Aaron couldn’t control his shaking or the sharp gasps that escaped his lips, “I love you too.”

“Be strong. This isn’t goodbye.” Aaron nodded, that seemed to calm him a little bit. Eric pulled away, holding Aaron’s cheeks in his hands before they kissed each other. He pulled Aaron closer, forcing his attention away from the pain and sadness, and onto memorizing each slide of their lips against each other, how Aaron’s hair curled beneath his trembling fingers. They pressed their foreheads together, and Eric was taken through every moment they’ve done the same thing before now. The stretch of silence only broken by Aaron’s heavy breaths. Eric placed a final kiss to Aaron’s forehead, noticing Michonne running back with Gracie in her arms.

“Papa!” She shouted, squirming in Michonne’s arms as she let her down. 

“Hey, baby,” he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. He cradled her head against his chest, taking in every second he could with her, “Gracie? Papa has to go away for a while,”

“No!” She cried, grasping at his shirt.

Tears ran down his face, “Shh, it’s okay,” he pulled back, wiping her tears away with his slender fingers, “I promise I’ll see you again. You just have to be good for daddy, okay?” He asked smiling.

“O-okay,” she whimpered. He kissed her forehead, trying to keep his cool. 

“Take care of daddy while I’m gone. I love you so much, sweetheart. So much.”

“I love you too, papa,” she sniffed. 

“Time’s up,” Negan said. Carl came to pick Gracie up, as Eric moved away, “Tie him up.” 

Eric looked at his family, as the Saviors roughly tied his arms behind his back. He looked at Aaron, his chest tightening, “I love you, baby,” he said as they took him away. 

Aaron shot forward at a run.

Negan grabbed him around the chest and threw him to the pavement. He scrambled back up on all fours and shot back for the men taking his husband.

“Aaron!” Michonne hollered.

“Stay down,” Negan demanded, but Aaron struggled back to his feet and tried for the men again.

Negan threw him down with a raise of Lucille, but Michonne dodged in front of the arc of the bat and shoved Aaron back to the road.

“Stay down,” she ordered in his ear as she fought him to his knees on the road. “He’s alive. You keep on, he’ll kill him just to watch you watch that. Stop. Moving.”

It was the hardest thing in his life to stay still when he knew Eric needed him, but he had to keep him alive.

As the dust settled, Michonne was left helping a shaking Aaron into his house, with Carl at his side with Gracie who was crying. 

Once they were inside, Aaron took Gracie into his arms and held her tightly, hoping that they could help each other calm down. Michonne and Carl helped make dinner. 

As they were eating, Aaron broke the silence, “I have to get him back.”

“Aaron... you know we’ll do everything we can, but we have to be smart, or Eric is as good as dead.”

“I know, which is why we have to look at people on the inside. Daryl’s been talking to Dwight, right?”

“Yeah. He’s been getting Gregory in and out of the Sanctuary. Maybe he could get to Eric?”

“We have to get him out before something happens to him. You saw what they did to Daryl at the beginning,” he looked at Gracie who was sleeping off her dinner in the living room, “I can’t let that happen to him.”

“I know,” she put a strong hand on his, “We’ll work on it.”


	13. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and the others attempt to rescue Eric from the Sanctuary. (Not a Fix-It anymore, but at least they got to say goodbye lol)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

They had a plan. They talked to Gregory, who in turn talked to Dwight. They learned Simon was trying to overthrow Negan, which could be the distraction they needed. If Negan ever got suspicious of Dwight, he could easily turn his eye to Simon, and go back into the shadows; that is when Dwight would take Gregory and Eric out and meet them at their planned spot. He could deliver Negan’s plans as well as help Eric.  
********************************************  
“The time has come. Let us gather our like-minded individuals, draw strength from each other and do what we need to do,” Simon said. 

Dwight played the part. He had to stay silent, make it look like he was still loyal.

“Come on! I gotta sell this to you? Think about everything he's done to you, every little indignity, everything he's extracted from you. Think about it, Dwight! You know what you have to do.

He thought about how he was the only one who could end this, the only one who could help on the outside. Though he wanted Negan dead, this could put him in jeopardy, and he certainly couldn’t let Simon win.

“You have to meet us in the courtyard after rounds, and we begin what's next.”

An idea dawned on him. Negan might not trust him, but Simon certainly did, “Right,” he agreed, giving Simon the answer he wanted to hear. 

The next thing he knew, he was in the courtyard. He had told Negan everything. 

“The next order of business is to set the break, to start the healing. The catalyzing event to facilitate that is the destruction of the Hilltop and its residents. We'll make it a monument of compliance,” Simon preached, “Sorry, Gregory.”

Greogory looked at Dwight. They were going to get Eric out now.

“...And then we get on with our lives.  
Right, Dwight?”

He was silent as Negan’s whistling carried through the space. 

“Thank you, D. I'll take it from here.”

He was in the clear. 

They were inside the sanctuary now. He could see the nurse standing on the outside, looking for a way out, trying not to draw attention to himself. As the fight escalated, Dwight took Gregory and grabbed the nurse by his collar, pulling them out of view.

Eric was startled, “What is this?” He asked, breathing heavily. He looked tired and defeated. Dwight knew the look of being separated from a loved one. 

“You need to get out of here now.”

“No shit.” Gregory snapped. 

“Alexandrians are waiting for you near the woods just outside the sanctuary. Give this to Rick and tell him about tomorrow.  
It's the only move you got.”

Eric handed the paper to Gregory, “I won’t forget this, Dwight. Thank you.”

Dwight nodded, “Go.”

Eric and Gregory made their way through the exit of the Sanctuary, hiding behind walls and trees until the coast was clear. Unfortunately, Gregory tripped, and they were spotted.

“We gotta go!” Eric shouted, as bullets landed at their feet. 

They finally made it to the woods, but were surrounded by around eight Saviors who were keeping watch. Slowly they put their hands up, panting from their efforts to get there.

Suddenly, an arrow wizzed past Gregory and into a Savior woman’s chest. Both men ducked down as the rest of the Saviors were mowed down with a mix of bullets and arrows. 

When the noise ceased, Eric uncovered his head and looked up. The first thing he saw was Aaron staring at him with tears in eyes as he set his gun down. Eric cried as he ran to him and jumped into his arms. Aaron caught him and pulled him into his chest, spinning him around as he did so.

“Oh, Eric. Oh god. I was so worried,” Aaron gasped into Eric’s neck.

“I know. Me too, but I’m here. We’re together,” he whispered, acknowledging he felt the same way—a mix of fear, relief, terror and love.

“We’ve got to stop getting in these situations, my nerves can’t take it,” Aaron joked. Eric let out a laugh and sniffed. 

Pulling apart, Eric ran his shaky hand over the side of Aaron’s face, looking deep into his eyes. Just looking at Aaron brought his anxiety down and made him smile. 

His smile faltered however when he saw movement behind Aaron’s shoulder. A savior man who had been shot in the back with an arrow—and didn’t die—lifted his own crossbow weakly, aiming right for Aaron. 

Everything happened in slow motion as he pushed Aaron out of the way, every reflex kicking into gear all at once.

“No!” He shouted as he pushed Aaron away, stepping in front of him just as the man fired. 

Aaron was in complete shock as the arrow shot through the air and sunk into Eric’s chest, just below his sternum. Eric was still for a moment. Wordlessly, he turned his head to look at Aaron, who couldn’t move. His eyes were full of fear. Aaron’s whole world was shattering as he stood there in shock. Eric’s knees suddenly buckled, and Aaron ran to his side, catching him in his arms before he hit the ground. 

“No, no, no. Eric, hey, stay with me,” Aaron pleaded, holding his husband in his arms, “Stay with me! Please, Eric!”

“A-Aaron...” he groaned, looking up at his face.

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” he cried, “Why would you do that!?”

“You... You know why,” Eric gasped.

“You can’t go. Gracie misses you already, you know. She needs you. I need you, please,” he choked, tears streaming down his rough face.

At that Eric smiled sadly, “Gracie...” he whispered, a tear running down his cheek. He knew he wouldn’t see Gracie again, and that these were the last moments he would have with Aaron. Blood soaked his shirt where the arrow had lodged itself in his chest, “Aaron look at me,” he reached up for Aaron’s face, but Aaron just took his hand and held it close, running a hand over his ring, “T-thank you...for everything. You’ve made me so, so happy. You have given me so much. I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you. I could never... You have to let me go.”

Aaron sobbed and began stroking Eric’s sweat soaked hair, “I can’t... I can’t do this alone.” 

Eric let his unshed tears fall, “Yes you can, sweetheart. Gracie needs you,” blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth.

“I don’t know what I should do,” Aaron cried.

“Shhh, just hold me,” he closed his eyes, feeling the calming way Aaron carded through his hair and stroked his face, “Remember what we promised each other the night before the fight at the Sanctuary?”

Aaron choked on a sob, “I don’t know if I can keep that promise.”

Eric’s heart broke, “You need to, for Gracie, okay? Do not blame yourself for this. I need you to keep living your life. I want you to be happy.”

“We were so close. We could have been happy.”

Eric let out a broken sob, “I know...” there was a pause as they looked each other deep in the eyes. Aaron held Eric tighter to his chest, his husband no long able to use his muscles, “I l-love you.”

“I always had a hunch,” Aaron laughed between his sobs. Eric smiled and groaned, another wave of pain coursing through him, “I love you too, Eric. More than anything. I love you so much.”

Both men poured all of their love—every hope, every desire, every unspoken thought—into that final kiss with each other, both hoping that they could feel how very much one had always loved the other. 

“Tell Gracie I love her. And Enid.”

“Of course,” Aaron couldn’t help but break down. What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t process what was happening now, how could he help them? He would need Eric. Panic started to take over, “Eric, you have to stay with me. Please, baby.”

Eric smiled weakly, looking him in the eyes. Aaron has the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Black blurred his vision as he mustered up the strength to stroke Aaron’s cheek one last time, taking it all in. He brushed his cheek bone and smiled before closing his eyes. 

Aaron panicked, shaking his lover softly, running his hand across his face, “Eric! Eric no please! Please wake up!”

For a split second Eric’s eyes weakly rolled up as Aaron barely pulled him out of letting go.

“Hey, honey, I’m here. I’m here. Please don’t go,” he sobbed, holding Eric’s cold hand to his face. 

“L-love of my life...” Eric whispered weakly as he finally slipped away. His once vibrant eyes now lifeless staring up at Aaron. 

He couldn’t breath. His heart was pounding, but he couldn’t move. He hesitantly looked down at his husband, choking out a sob as he looked at his face. He was dead. 

“No!” He sobbed, pulling his husband to his chest, “Please! God—please—Eric—no!”

He rocked his limp body back and forth in his lap. He couldn’t let go. Rick tried to walk up to Aaron, but Michonne stopped him, “Let him grieve.”

Aaron sobbed and held him for what seemed like hours, crying into his lover’s shoulder, and stroking his face. 

In the distance, Saviors who noticed Eric was missing and who heard the gunfire were heading their way and fast. 

Michonne put a hand on his shaking shoulder, “Aaron we have to go.”

“N-no... I can’t leave him.”

“They’re coming, we have to go. There’s no time!”

“We have to take him back.”

Michonne knew that wouldn’t last long. They had to move, and Eric would slow them down, but they didn’t have time to argue, “Okay. Let me help you carry him.”

“No. I c-can do it. Just let me do it.”

“Okay, but hurry.”

Aaron cried out as he carried Eric in his arms. His head rolled limply into his chest. Aaron tried to keep up, but he felt so weak. As they ran through the woods, bullets flying at them from behind, his foot caught on a tree root. He and Eric fell to the ground. 

Michonne swore. She knew what she had to do. With Rick and the others in the group covering her, she ran to Aaron and helped him up, leading him away from the Saviors... and away from Eric.

“No Michonne! You can’t!” He cries as he was being led away.

As the group pushed him on, he couldn’t help but look back to where his husband was laying face down, and dead, by the tree. 

Once they reached the car and drove off. Aaron release the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Tara was in the backseat rubbing his back and wiping his husband’s blood from his hands. 

He felt numb. There was nowhere for him to go. He couldn’t think and he couldn’t breath. He tried to think of Gracie, but his only thought was that he had to raise her alone. 

“Shh, breathe,” Tara whispered to Aaron. She wasn’t sure how she could make anything okay for him. Eric had been there for her when Denise died, so she knew she had to honor him and do the same for Aaron.


	14. Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Gracie mourn the loss of Eric with their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

Enid ran up to the gates as she saw the cars coming from the lookout. She stood there as they all filed out of the car.

She saw Aaron. He looked heartbroken, and she didn’t see Eric. She put two and two together. She sprinted to Aaron as quickly as she could as Tara was helping him walk to his house.

“Oh god, Aaron!” She cried, wrapping her arms around him.

Aaron couldn’t help but sob into her shoulder, “Is Gracie inside?”

“No. B-Barbara has her.”

“He’s gone, Enid. He’s gone, and I couldn’t save him.”

“You don’t have to talk now. Let’s just get you home,” she nodded to Tara for help, a tear running down her cheek.

They both support Aaron as he hobbled weakly to their house. Once they got up to the porch, he broke down.

“I can’t do it.”

“Let us help you. Please. He was our family too.”

Aaron sniffed and nodded his head, and they stepped through the doors together. Immediately, Aaron looked to the wall on the side of the door. It was the picture they had taken after Eric moved in with him. Aaron had his arms wrapped around Eric’s waist as Eric looked up to him with a huge smile on his face. Aaron felt like his soul left his body as he reached out and touched Eric’s face through the frame with shaky hands. He would never see that smile or those bright eyes again. Who could ever make him that happy again? Every little thing in the house was a reminder of the love of his life from pictures to the license plates to clothes and photo albums. 

He felt numb as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor. He loved Eric with every fiber of his being. Aaron didn’t think he would ever survive losing him. Grief mingled with the numbness caused by shock overwhelmed him. A choked sound left Aaron. Dry sobs ripped through him, and though his eyes were screwed up, not one tear fell. He was all cried out. Shoulders shook as eventually, eventually, his sobs faded off into uneven breathing and wet sniffling. A headache throbbed behind his skull, “I just want him to be with me,” he whispered brokenly. “Why was it fair to take him? It should have been me.”

Tara and Enid were both at his side.

“You can’t self destruct. Eric wouldn’t want that for you.”

“I can’t do this without him.”

“Aaron, you’re strong. I know you and Eric have been through a lot together, and because of that, he will always be with you.”

Hands trembling, he rubbed the heels of his bloody palms against his eyelids, flinching away from them once he remembered that his hands were coated in Eric’s blood. He doubled over from grief. Enid and Tara exchanged pained looks.

“Aaron, you need some rest,” Enid tilted her head in that persuading way, “We’ll stay with you. Anything you need, remember?” 

Aaron nodded. He didn’t know what he needed besides Eric. 

“Can Gracie stay with Barbara for a few more hours? I need time to think before I talk to her.”

“Of course. I can let her know you need time. Do you want to go upstairs?”

Aaron sighed shakily, “No. I can’t face that right now.” 

“Okay. Let’s go to the couch.”

Enid guided Aaron to the couch and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the photo album sticking out of the shelf. It was the original he had gotten Eric that last Hanukkah. All of a sudden he couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding. He felt an overwhelming sense of dread take over. He directed his gaze elsewhere. His eyes landed on Gracie’s toys; toys that Eric and Gracie used to play with together. He cried harder, her chest growing tight as bile rose in his throat. He felt Enid’s arms around him as he gasped for any air he could get into his lungs. 

He didn’t even feel the needle enter his arm. After a few seconds, he began to feel drowsy. He melted into Enid’s arms as she laid him down and covered him with Eric’s favorite blanket. He couldn’t think of anything else as he drifted off into sleep. 

“What did you do?” Enid asked.

“Sedative. It was in his medical drawer.”   
********************************************  
When Aaron woke up, he felt calmer. His head still ached, but it felt better— better than his heart anyway. He saw Enid and Tara sitting in the chairs of the living room going through one of the photo albums. They both looked up when they saw he was awake. 

“Hey. How are you feeling?” 

Aaron took a deep breath. He didn’t have bad dreams, he had good ones, which was almost worse, “Numb.”

“Tara and I were talking, and we both think seeing Gracie will help. We can go get her. She must be worried.”

“What time is it?”

“About 5:00. We can make dinner if you want?”

“No. I’m not really hungry. I can go get Gracie, though.”

“Aaron, you don’t have to do this alone.”

Aaron closed his eyes, letting a tear flow, “Thank you. Both of you. I... I know he would appreciate this.”

“You guys took me in when I had no family. You became my family. I love you both so much. Of course I want to help.”

“He um... he told me to tell you that he loved you.”

Enid laughed sadly, “That’s Eric. Always thinking of other people.”

Aaron smiled, “Yeah...”

Tara cleared her throat, obviously emotional, “You both supported me when Denise died, and you were her friends. I want to help too... how about we go get Gracie, and you can get cleaned up a bit?”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank us,” Tara replied, kissing Aaron’s cheek. 

When they left, the quiet finally hit Aaron. The silence was the worst. For some reason he expected to hear Eric’s heart beating, his calm breathing, him humming throughout the house, or singing to Gracie. Instead it was silence. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the door open. 

“Daddy!”

He couldn’t help but smile. His daughter could always cheer him up with her kind spirit and positivity. It made it all the more difficult to tell her. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said softly, leaning down to pick her up. 

“Where’s papa?”

He sat down on the couch with her in his arms, kissing her forehead gently, “Gracie,” he looked at her sadly as he tried to keep his composure. His hands and heart feeling shaky, “Papa... he uh... he didn’t make it. He’s gone,” he whispered. 

He watched as her mouth trembled, “Where did he go?”

Aaron felt his own tears fall as he looked at Tara and Enid crying in front of him, “He passed away, Gracie.”

Gracie let it all go, and it tore him to pieces as she cried and screamed into his chest, calling out to her papa.

“Shhh, I know honey. I know.” 

“Papa!” 

All he could do was cradle her and try to keep it together as her sobs subsided to gentle cries. He switched places on the couch, sitting Gracie on the cushions while he kneeled in front of her, wiping her tears away. 

“Gracie, papa loved you so much, okay? He wanted me to tell you that. He thought about you all the time. We can get through this together. Me and you.”

“He p-promised,”

“I know. I know,” he whispered, “How about we do bath time?” He knew that bath time always calmed Gracie down, and helped her sleep. 

She sniffed, “Yes please.”

“Okay, honey. Let’s go upstairs.”

He carried her up the stairs to the bathroom. Currently, she was the only thing keeping him grounded as he caught sight of Eric’s toothbrush still in the cup. What was he going to do with his stuff? 

He started the bath as he helped Gracie undress, setting her gently in the warm water. He remembered the struggle him and Eric had gone through trying to give Gracie her first bath in the sink. Both men had ended up soaking wet, but they were both as happy as could be. A smile creeped up his face as he recalled the memory to Gracie who also giggled in between her sobs. He used Gracie’s favorite, calming lavender soap that their friend Carmen had made. He carded his hands through Gracie’s hair to rinse the soap out and slowly poured the warm water over her head. 

When she was clean, he wrapped a fluffy towel around her and helped to dry her hair. He helped her into her pajamas and laid her down in her bed, both of them exhausted and emotionally drained. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Sad,” she whispered, “I want papa.”

“Me too. I miss him a lot, but he will always be with us, okay? You might see him in your dreams tonight,” he took her hand and smiled, “just make sure to say hi to him for me.”

Thinking about never talking to Eric hurt him, but he had to be strong for his daughter. What could he possibly tell her to make her feel better.

“We can talk about it tomorrow, but I need you to get some sleep, alright?” He looked into her sweet, brown eyes, tearing up, “You have his eyes, you know.”

“Daddy?” She grabbed his hand, “Can you read to me?”

He smiled brightly, “Of course baby.”

He grabbed one of Gracie’s favorite books and began to read, trying his best to do the funny voices like Eric used to do. He didn’t even get a chapter in when Gracie fell asleep. Her face finally peaceful. He kissed her forehead a little longer that night and tucked her in, turning off the light as he left the room.


	15. The Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after episode 8x06, “The King, The Widow, and Rick”.
> 
> Aaron and the rest of the group hold a funeral to honor Eric, as they continue to grieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you all to know that a lot of what I post is original content, but I also pulled from many other works that I LOVED in order to make a cohesive, perfect story for me personally. If you want the details on specific works or if you wrote the works, let me know. Also, this is not canon, but it resolves itself without messing with the storyline.

As he made his way downstairs, Tara and Enid were in the kitchen making dinner.

“You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“We wanted to.”

He smiled at their compassion and sat down at the island. Tara served up her famous mac and cheese and poured Aaron a glass of wine. 

“I’ve always though this red paired nicely with this dish,” Tara joked.

Aaron couldn’t help but laugh. It felt nice. 

A few minutes into their meal, there was a knock on the door. The last thing Aaron wanted was company, but he nodded as Enid moved to opened the door. 

She laughed loudly when she saw who it was, “Maggie!” She swiftly hugged her as she stepped through the doorway, “What are you doing here?”

She let go and looked sadly at Aaron, “I heard, and I wanted to see how you were doing.”

He took a shaky breath and made his way over to Maggie. When he embraced his friend, he couldn’t help but choke out a sob.

Memories of her own loss came back to her, “Can we sit?”

He pulled back and wiped at his eyes, “Of course, sorry.”

“Don’t. You have nothing to be sorry for,” they sat in the living room together, “Talk to me.”

“I keep forgetting he's gone. I have this weight,” he gestured to his chest, his heart heavy, “There's moments when I—I think I'll see him, that I'll, uh be able to talk about,” he smiled sadly, “how I'm feeling with him,” he whimpered, “And my mind catches up, and I remember that the pain is about knowing that it will never happen.”

Enid was crying, and Maggie squeezed Aaron’s shoulder, “I know that feeling.”

“Does it get easier?”

She sighed, “No. But it helps to do something about it... Did you bury him.”

Sobs wracked his body. Tara shook her head, “I had to leave him there, Maggie. I had to leave him in the middle of the woods. I-I couldn’t even bring him home.”

“Oh Aaron,” she said sadly. One comfort to her was knowing Glenn was properly put to rest and never became a walker.

“I didn’t even get his brain, Maggie. I couldn’t,” he gasped, “He probably turned. He could be a walker right now, and I can’t do anything about it. How could I do that? Just leave him like that? To become a monster?” He couldn’t shake the thought of his husband, the love of his life, mindlessly shambling around the woods, dead and decaying, “I couldn’t even bring him back for Gracie to say goodbye,” his shoulders trembled with his sobs echoing through the room.

“Shhh, I know. I know.”

“He’s been through so much, and he can’t even rest properly. I couldn’t take care of him when he needed me too. What if he’s scared or in pain?”

“It’s going to be okay. We can find something of his to bury instead to help put your mind at ease.” 

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

With that they passed the night comforting each other, sharing positive stories, and finally resting. All three of them reassuring Aaron they would be there for him in the morning, and they were.

Aaron woke up and immediately reached over for Eric, but then he remembered. He felt dead inside. He opened his eyes and saw his friends eating breakfast around the table. It wasn’t just Maggie, Enid and Tara, but all of his friends— Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Scott.

Aaron got up and made his way over, “Hey guys. What are you all doing here?”

Rick spoke up, “You’ve always been there for us from the moments you and Eric brought us here. The least we could do is stay with you.”

“We’re gonna help you through this, brother,” Daryl grunted. 

Aaron nodded. The house didn’t feel so empty anymore, but he was still overwhelmed. 

Michonne stepped forward, “Aaron... I’m sorry for what I did back there. I just didn’t want to lose anyone else.”

He pulled Michonne into a hug, “I know. Eric would have appreciated that.”

He felt her sniff into his shoulder, eyes watering, “Thank you,” she whispered, pulling back. 

“Is Gracie still asleep?”

Michonne smiled, “Yeah, Judith is napping with her now if that’s alright?” 

“Yeah, thanks. She-uh-she’s pretty upset.”

She squeezed his shoulder, “We want to help you go through his stuff. Maybe find things that you want to put to rest.” 

He exhaled shakily, “That sounds good. Thank you. So much.” 

“Of course. Where should we start?”

He blew air out of his mouth, “Um... I think I’m going to keep the small things like his books or random things we found on runs. Also, I’m keeping our pictures and things like that. It’ll be hard, but it’s important that I have that part of him.”

“Sure.”

“I don’t know what to do with his clothes,” they notice the dark shadows under Aaron’s eyes; he sounds tired, “I should put them in with our supplies. It’s a waste, not using them. But I can’t stand the thought of…of someone else walking around, wearing his clothes.”

“We can help you go through all of that. Do you want to head upstairs?

“Yeah.”

They climbed the stairs in silence, Enid by his side. When he got to the door to their bedroom, he stopped, feeling his chest squeeze tightly.

“I was never here without him. This was our house. Now it’s... so empty.“

“We’ll give you some space.”

Aaron inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. He opened the door and was immediately hit with a mix of emotions. He could see all of the pictures of them smiling and holding each other before and after they apocalypse. His book still had the bookmark in it on his side of the bed. He stared at the coffee mug Eric left on the table the night before he was taken; it was beside the picture Gracie had drawn for him. 

He was trembling as he dared to open the drawer on Eric’s side. Sobs ripped through him as he looked through the drawers. Most of what he found were personal things of Eric’s— journals, special photos, drawings. When he reached the bottom, he felt something metallic under his fingertips. 

Curiously, he tugged on it and pulled out a Washington license plate. He almost dropped it as his hands began shaking. He turned the plate over and saw there was a note attached.

‘Happy birthday, babe! While we were on our run a while ago and were clearing the road, I found this. I have been wanting to give it to you since I got it, but gifts are pretty scarce these days. Now you have no excuse for not getting me something next month (kidding). I hope you like it. I like how this has become our thing. I can’t wait to make more memories with you and our beautiful daughter. You are such a great dad, and you deserve the world. I love you so much, handsome.  
Love, Eric’

Aaron frantically wiped at his eyes, doubling over from grief. He gripped their bedsheets as tight as he could, shaking silently. After a few minutes he collected himself, and put a few of his things in a box that would go with the rest of their photos and sentimental stuff.

He opened the door and let his friends in, who were waiting respectfully behind the door. 

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Together they sorted through Eric’s clothes. They took his shoes that might be useful for the community and some clothes like pants, jackets and T-shirts. Aaron held on to some of Eric’s favorite flannels and sweaters that reminded him of his husband and brought back nice memories. 

“Are you ready to go?” 

Aaron wiped his eyes, his cheeks raw, “Yeah. I just have to throw his toothbrush out. It’s such a tiny thing, but it still hurts.”

He walked into Gracie’s room and gently ran a hand over her head, “Hey Gracie. Time to wake up.” She opened her tired eyes and stretched, before falling into her dad’s arms. He set her in the chair by the table, “Are you hungry? Tara made breakfast.”

She shook her head, “No.”

“Honey you have to eat,” he said sadly, taking her hand.

“I just want Papa.”

He closed his eyes, “Me too, but he wouldn’t want you to give up. We have to keep living for him. Can you do that? Because I’m gonna need your help with that. We can help each other. Does that sound good?” She nodded and hugged Aaron tightly, “Okay, after you eat, I think we are going to have a small service. Just you, me and some friends. We can say goodbye.”

“Okay,” she whispered. He kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair, which made her giggle.

He put some of Eric’s diaries and Gracie’s drawings into a box along with some small gifts Aaron had made or found for him. This is what he would bury.

“Anything you want to put in the box for Papa?” 

She ran to her room and pulled out a drawing, “I made this for him.”

“For when he got back?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay, that’s really nice, baby. Wherever he is I’m sure he’ll love it.”

He added it to the box, and they headed out to the cemetery, Gracie’s small hand in his and Tara leading the way. Not far from Denise’s grave she stopped, “How’s this?”

Aaron gave her an appreciative look, eyes red rimmed and distant. But then he sighed, “It’s a good spot.”

He set Gracie on the ground and they started digging. Tara and Enid took to playing with Gracie. He could hear Tara talking to her about Denise. The others shoveled away. 

All of them working made good progress, and the grave was big enough before the sun had crested. Aaron wiped sweat from his face, as he shoveled out the last bit of dirt, “Can you hand me his things, Daryl?”

“Yeah, ‘course,” he passed the box down to Aaron who looked inside the box sadly for a second, taking a minute to remember the stories behind the possessions and his lover. 

Before he closed the box, he took out a picture of Eric he had taken one sunny day in Alexandria. They just had another ‘date’ night and were sitting on the porch as the sun was setting. Aaron had just told Eric a joke and he threw his head back with laughter. Both his smile and eyes were blinding. He was so beautiful and happy. Aaron just had to snap a picture with the Polaroid camera they had found on a run. He carried that picture around with him all the time, and that’s what he wanted to put in the grave to remember his husband. He slipped the photo in the box and covered it with a sheet. 

He clambered up from the grave, and gave it one last look before he began shoveling the dirt back on. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Michonne stepped forward and held Judith out to Carl, “You’ve done enough. Let us help.”

Tears were running down Aaron’s face again, but he stepped back, picking up Gracie as the cried and watched them fill the hole. 

Aaron walked to the shed with his daughter and picked out a plant of wood a brush and black paint. 

He set both down on the ground, and kneeled with Gracie in front of him. He began to write on the board with unsteady hands, when Gracie put her tiny hands on his. Together they painted his headstone. 

Eric Raleigh  
Father, Husband, Friend  
1984- 2018

When Maggie patted down the last shovel full of soil, he took Gracie to the small pile, and together they grabbed a handful and threw it onto the grave. There had been no real release for Aaron until that moment; he felt like he could finally breathe. 

He and Gracie just stood there for a while until everyone had filed out. He didn’t even notice some of his neighbors watching from the distance. 

“Love you, Papa,” he heard Gracie whisper.

He squeezed her hand, “Goodbye, sweetheart. I love you.”

The two slowly walked back to their house. That night, he would sleep in his bed without Eric by his side for a long time, but he had Gracie right beside him. It wouldn’t be easy, and it would take a while, but they would be okay.

The next week, Aaron and Enid would head to Oceanside to make sure they would win for him.


End file.
